Of Fiddlers and Traditions
by bluecinderella4
Summary: Plot taken from 'Fiddler on the Roof'. When one is accustom to a long set of established traditions, it's not so easy to welcome any new changes-isn't it enough that you deal with that fiddler on the roof? Better summary inside. Rated T for safety
1. The Prologue

**Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha I'm past the brink of insanity with this idea. I have a lot of respect to those who are actually willing to read this and give it a chance.**

 **The big question you're probably wondering is "how" and/or "why". I mean this has got to be one the craziest ideas ever, right? The "how" came courtesy of a relentlessly long drive where I brought my entire collection of musical books for the road trip: I read** _ **Fiddler on the Roof**_ **and somehow formed this idea. The "why" is because I like a challenge. I'm best known for adapting one fandom to a different movie or TV episode and keeping everything in canon. I wanted to do it with** _ **Glee**_ **and I actually figured out how to do so while also keeping canon. Also, when it comes to** _ **Fiddler**_ **, I prefer the plot to the music—though you can probably find me singing "** _ **Matchmaker, Matchmaker"**_ **or "** _ **Miracle of Miracles"**_ **if I'm really bored—and I thought it'd be ironic adapting a musical story to a musical show without the songs.**

 **Uploading the first 2 chapters to show you I'm taking this fic seriously. There will be a character list w/ explanation and changes at the end.**

* * *

 _Setting: an Eastern European village in 1904_

Silhouetted against the sunrise, the infamous fiddler on the roof stood on the roof of the village inn and played its fiddle to greet the day. It had become a tradition over the past year and it was quite a welcome to some…

…but not to all. One particular person irritated by this was Sue. "Damn fiddler on the roof again," she wished her house was close enough to the inn so that she could throw a rock or something equally solid at whoever played that fiddle and shut them up. "I'd like to strangle whoever started that damn tradition," she mumbled to herself as she readied to start the day.

Sue was popular among the village for being the only working woman at a time when it was a woman's duty to stay home and raise a family. In fact: village law required that for a woman to live away from her family, she must marry. And since Sue couldn't marry herself—though she tried to on a few occasions—she lived at home with her mother and sister until they each passed away. Another village tradition dating back as far as anyone could remember, was the town matchmaker arranging the marriages (which seemed to be one of the only appropriate jobs for a woman to have). Needing money, Sue was matched up not once, but twice to two wealthy, widowed merchants. Each of the men also had a daughter from their previous marriages. Once both of Sue's husbands died, Sue continued to raise their daughters as well as take in a foundling orphan she had grown fond of. And without a stable income, Sue had to secure a job while her wards went to school and took care of the house.

Sue had interesting relationships with each of the girls. Quinn, the daughter of Sue's first husband, was a smart, attractive young blonde who quickly earned Sue's respect for her stubbornness and fearlessness. When Quinn wanted something, Quinn got it and she would stand up to anyone who prevented her from doing so. If she wanted to, Quinn could be very manipulative and calculating. One would think they would become adversaries, but Quinn and Sue quickly became friends (Sue even became a sort of mentor to Quinn). The second and oldest of the girls was Rachel. Sue did not care for Rachel. Rachel was selfish, spoiled, and assumed she was the best at everything and was destined for greatness. Rachel also liked to sing ( _loudly_ ) all the time. The girl was extremely annoying, but Sue promised her late second husband she'd take care of Rachel. The final, younger girl was Brittany. Sue had a particular fondness for the orphan. Brittany was sweet, simple, and seemed to have a different, more innocent view on the cold, cruel world. Sue felt like she needed to protect her and thus Brittany became her favorite.

But the girls were blossoming into young women. By this point, they were all sixteen. Once a girl in the village became sixteen, her schooling was nearly through and it was time for her to be matched by the matchmaker. Because Rachel was the oldest "daughter" of the house, she had to marry first in order for Quinn and Brittany to be matched as well. It was tradition. Sue was at a current stage in her life where the last thing she needed was change and went along with the traditions…

…even if they included that damn fiddler on the roof.

"Good morning Sue," the girls greeted her as Sue came downstairs.

"Ugh," this was Sue's typical morning reply. She would then take her seat at the table, gesture for the girls to sit and eat, and then escort them to the village schoolhouse before going to work.

Standing in front of the schoolhouse was the village teacher and his apprentice. Teacher William—who preferred to be called 'Will'—was most likely the most respected member of the community. The man chosen to become the teacher was a man who had received higher education as well as learned different varieties of skills to pass onto the students. As such, the teacher was often the one the villagers would come to for help and advice. The teacher also had the right to choose a worthy apprentice among his elder students to assist with the teaching duties before said student would leave the village to receive more training. That apprentice was Sam. And Sam happened to be the boy Quinn had her eye on. After she would greet her teacher, Quinn would flash a flirty smile and her voice would become breathy as she greeted the apprentice. This resulted in Sam blushing and fumbling for words before he replied back.

Sam was one of the few better prospects for Sue's girls. Sue had a liking for the butcher's son, Kurt, an outgoing apprentice tailor who had befriended everyone he came in contact with. There was Kurt's step-brother, Finn, who was currently unsure of what his future held—though he was more than likely going to work in his stepfather's butcher shop—a good-looking, athletic, if not dim, young man who was still mourning the loss of his mother the year before. The bookseller's son, Arthur (or "Artie" as he preferred) was another potential, but unlikely candidate who was born with polio. But there were two other girls, Mercedes and Tina, who were also sixteen and both were their respective family's oldest daughters so they needed to be matched as well. Of course, their families had a little more money so they would probably be of high priority.

One girl who didn't have to worry about finding a match was Becky. Becky was a homeless girl with Down Syndrome and was often treated like an outcast. Not by Sue though. Sue's late sister had the same affliction and didn't need to be treated any different. "Hello Sue," Becky greeted Sue in the village circle.

"Hello, Becky," Sue handed her a coin. "My weekly gift to you."

"That's it? You're really cheap this week."

"I had a rough week."

"So I have to suffer too?"

"I'll make it up to you, Becky."

"You better."

"Susie!" as Becky walked away, someone ran forward. That someone was the matchmaker, April. April was a tiny blonde who spoke in a high-pitched, nasal voice and often irritated Sue with her unnecessary perkiness. Then there was the fact that April called her 'Susie' because April never used less than two syllables in someone's name. In addition to being the matchmaker, April was notorious as town gossip. "Oh, Susie, have I got news for you."

Sue tried walking away. "Not interested."

April continued to follow. "But it's just to die for."

"You're still alive."

April laughed an irritating laugh. "Oh, Susie, you and your sense of humor," she continued this laughing until she snorted. Embarrassed, April quickly cleared her throat. "Wait til you hear what happened with-"

"I have work to do."

"Oh, right. Hopefully I'll remember to tell you later when I stop at your house."

"Ew, why."

"It's business, not pleasure." Sue looked at April. "You heard me right. It appears a certain someone wants to make a match with one of your girls."

"Please tell me it's Rachel. The sooner I get her out of my house, the better."

"Of course it's Rachel. I have to make a match for Rachel first before I pair up the other girls. I'll drop in around dinner time with all the details." She giggled that annoying giggle. "Oh, this is so exciting! I can't wait to arrange the match so that I can tell everybody." April hurried off humming

"Bout damn time," whether or not Sue was referring to April leaving or Rachel being matched was uncertain (though it could have been both). Sue continued making her way through the village when she noticed "The Unmentionables" lurking near the inn. "The Unmentionables" was a name given to outcast members of the village who loved people of the same gender and were treated worse than Becky would ever be. Sue did not care for them. She disagreed with their lifestyle choice and avoided them as best she could. Of course the innkeeper's daughter, Emma—who was also Will's wife—was kind and took pity on them; offering them food and blankets and sometimes shelter in the storage house behind the inn. While Sue disagreed with this, she said nothing. As long as they didn't bother her, she was fine.

"Hello Sue," "Blacksmith Beiste" was the last person to greet Sue that morning.

"Morning, Shannon," Sue was on a first name basis with the town blacksmith.

"I saw ya over there with Miss April. Has she made a match for Rachel?"

"Probably. She's gonna discuss the details later."

"You think it's with Finn? I'm more than sure they've been sweet on each other for a while now."

"Finn and Rachel? Nah, they're just friends; have been since they were little. Besides, where would Finn get the money to hire April? His mother—may she rest in peace—left him nothing and his stepfather can't hire April's services unless Finn was his natural son."

"I can't think of any other fella who might think romantically of Miss Rachel."

"It is possible that one of the parents made a match for their son, or it's someone older, or widowed who wants companionship and doesn't find Rachel all that irritating. I'll tell you about it later unless the town gossip can't keep her mouth shut."

"Alrighty," Beiste went back into her shop, "have a good day, Sue."

The sound of a fiddle brought Sue's attention to the roof of the inn. She let out an irritated growl as she tried to get a good look at the fiddler. Everybody knew everyone in this town but no one knew the identity of the mysterious fiddler on the roof. Pointing to the roof, "I will find out who you are! And when I do, I'm gonna take that fiddle and stick it where the sun don't shine."

* * *

 **The play's prologue is an exposition of what goes in the village, what everyone does, and the traditions. The fiddler on the roof is used an analogy of the village traditions and honestly doesn't have a part. So I had the idea to keep the fiddler's identity a mystery a for the fiddler to be a nuisance to Sue.**

 **Yes, Sue is Tevye. She's also Golde. I know it might not make sense, but it will as the story progresses. Other characters include…**

 **Rachel, Quinn, and Brittany as the older daughters Tzeitel, Hodel, & Chava respectively**

 **April Rhodes is Yente the Matchmaker. Yente's a (small) busybody gossip who seems to take pleasure in the romantic aspect of her job**

 **Finn and Kurt share the role of Motel the tailor/Tzeitel's intended. I kinda separated the roles giving Kurt the "tailor" part and Finn the "intended" part**

 **We haven't met Puck yet, but Puck is Perchik. Perchik is a kind of rebel with radical new ideas who shakes things up in the village**

 **Santana is Fyedka. Okay so in the musical, Fyedka was ostracized because he wasn't Jewish and was Russian (there's an ongoing resentment toward the Tsar in the show). Since I kinda took out the religious aspect, I ostracized Santana for her being a lesbian. Again, it'll make sense as the story goes on**

 **Burt takes on the Lazar Wolf role. It'll make sense in the next chapter, trust me**

 **Will is kinda like the Rabbi, except I made him a teacher because (like I said), I took out the religious aspects. So I created a teacher's apprentice role for Sam, who is based on the Rabbi's son**

 **Mercedes and Tina are sort of Shprintze & Bielke except their just friends of the "sisters"**

 **Other villagers include Beiste, Figgins as the Constable, Emma as Mordcha the innkeeper, Artie as Avram the bookseller, Becky as Nahum the beggar, Carole as Fruma-Sarah, and I worked Blaine in as the Russian friend Sasha**

 **Like I said: crazy right?**


	2. The Matchmaker

**The scene w/ the matchmaker is actually Scene One, so I decided to use that as the main plot for this chapter. But now we should actually start the chapter…**

* * *

Brittany ran into the house with an announcement. "The matchmaker's on her way to the house!"

Rachel didn't want to believe it. " _Our_ house?"

"Why shouldn't she come to the only house on the street?" Quinn questioned back with blatant sarcasm. "Maybe she's finally found a match for you, Rachel."

"Here's hopin'," the girls didn't hear Sue mutter under her breath.

"Oh!" Rachel looked out the window to confirm Brittany's news. "Why does April have to come so close to dinner? What does she even want?"

"I know I want you three to go outside and do something productive while she and I talk."

"If this concerns me, I have a right to stay and listen."

"Who said it concerns you?"

"She has to make a match for me before she does Quinn or Brittany," Rachel let out a whine. "With my luck it's a fat, old, bald man."

"Fingers crossed," Quinn gave a sort of sly giggle as she stepped outside.

"With all our luck it'll be someone rich," Sue countered. "You can't be so picky. You want to marry someone with hair, marry a monkey."

Brittany blinked in confusion. "Wait, she can really marry a monkey?"

Sue pointed to the back door. "Out!" Rachel and Brittany exited through the back as April entered from the front. "Hello, April."

"Oh, Susie, isn't this exciting," April closed the door. "Have I told you those girls are such precious jewels? They're so young, and pretty, and…well I don't really know them personally, but I'm bound to find a husband for each of them just based on their youth and beauty." April gave a wistful sigh. "I remember when I was matched with my husband—may he rest in peace. I mean the thought of marrying a man thirty years older than me wasn't exactly a comforting thought, but he was rich, so that's gotta be worth something," she started to laugh. "Rich! Worth!" she continued laughing despite the silence. She calmed herself down shortly after noticing Sue's serious expression. "Anywho, we can't be too picky. After all: any husband is better than no husband."

"Agree to disagree."

"Weren't you married twice?"

"You know a woman can't live on her own unless she's married. I thought once was enough, but I just had to get matched again. Though much like your late husband, my second husband—may they rest in peace—did have some financial stability and purchased this house for us."

"Okay, yeah, can't fault you for that; most of us marry for money anyway. I mean the only exception I can think of is that handsome excuse for a teacher who loved the innkeeper's daughter so he spent every last of his money to-"

April was interrupted by someone bursting through the front door. That someone was Finn. "Uh…hi," he suddenly was embarrassed by barging in.

"What do you want, Finn?" Sue questioned.

"Is Rachel in the house?"

"Do you _see_ her in the house?"

"Um, no."

"Then come back later."

"But there's something I have to tell her."

"So tell her later."

"But it's-"

" _Later_."

Finn knew better than to cross Sue. "Later," he gave a slight bow to the ladies, backed away without closing the door, and then nervously ran forward to close the door.

"Ooh," April sensed some gossip. "What does that handsome hunk of boy want with Rachel?"

"Eh, I never know. He and Rachel have known each other forever and they always go behind the house and talk."

"That's all they do? _Talk_?"

"What else do you expect them to do?"

"Well, it's a pretty sizable wooded area behind your house and with two attractive young people like Finny and Rachel, I find it kind of hard to believe they just go back there to _talk_."

"Yeah, well Rachel may be an annoying nuisance, but she does what she's told to do. She's never done anything immoral but butcher popular songs with that nausea inducing voice of hers."

"Ugh, I know what you mean. There are just some people with voices that just want to make you bleed out your ears."

"Oh I know what you mean."

April didn't get the hint. "Anywho, I told you I was here on business, and here is my business: Burty the butcher has decided it's time for his son to take a wife and he wants to make a match between his son and Rachel."

"His son, Kurt?"

"Yeah, the cute little redhead who works as an apprentice tailor. Well Burty's noticed how well Rachel and his son get along and he thinks a match can be made between them. I mean, I can't see anything wrong with this. They're both young, good-looking, and I have seen them during the brief school recesses and they are friendly with each other. Plus both he and his father make good money." Sue nodded at that point. "But because one father is setting up the match, it has to be approved by the other father before we make it official. So I've arranged for you to meet with Burty at the inn to discuss any further arrangements and there you will decide whether or not the match is made. Oh, and don't tell anyone else until it's official. You, me, and Burty are the only ones who know about this. Though if all goes well, tomorrow everyone will know about it," April squealed in delight. "Oh, they'll be so cute together!"

"Well if that's all, you can leave now."

"Yes, yes, that's all. And hopefully next time we meet, I'll have a match for the other two." She giggled in delight. "Goodbye, Susie!"

…

Meanwhile in the backyard, the girls were doing laundry when they saw April leave. Quinn had a knowing smirk on her face as she hung one of the towels to dry. "I wonder who's going to be your lucky groom, Rachel."

"I'm in no rush to be anyone's bride," Rachel responded back.

"Not unless you get to marry Finn," Brittany pointed out.

"No one asked you."

"Well if you ask me, I think this is a good thing," Quinn made her point clear. "Once they make a match for you, then they can make one for me."

"And then me," Brittany added.

Rachel gave Brittany a suspicious look. "Since when are you interested in a match, Brittany? I thought you were only interested in your dancing." Quinn couldn't help but giggle. "And you: you're interested in the teacher's apprentice."

"And why shouldn't I be?' Quinn questioned back. "Sam is very handsome, and he'll have one of the most important jobs there are as a teacher. He's one of the best and I think I deserve one of the best."

"But we haven't been able to have the best since our fathers died. So whoever April matches for us, we'll have to accept. You might not get someone young, or smart, or interesting, or important, or well-off. I can picture it now: April comes to you in that high-pitched voice of hers and says 'Oh Quinnie, have I made a match for you'," Rachel pitched her voice to sound like April. "She'll give you that annoying nickname because she never uses less than two syllables with someone's name. Then she'll say, 'he's handsome, he's young…okay, he's sixty-two; but he's a nice man and a good catch. True? True'." Quinn scowled as Brittany giggled at that. "You probably won't fare any better either, Brittany. She'll go up to you and say 'Brittany, oh Darlin', I've made you someone's bride. He's handsome, he's tall…well, he is from side to side; but he's a nice man, a good catch. Right? Right'."

"She really likes the word 'handsome'," Brittany observed.

"We don't expect to be matched with a prince or anything, Rachel," Quinn snarked at Rachel, "but is it wrong to hope that we don't settle?" A thought crossed Quinn's mind. "Because once we're matched, it's for good."

"Unless he dies and we get matched again like Sue."

"And that thought of having to settle with whoever you're matched with is terrifying."

"You're right," Rachel agreed. Leaning against the side of the house she said. "It would be so much easier if we could just choose who we want to marry."

"But we can't," Quinn shoved a laundry basket at her. "Not while we live here."

"Do you plan on going somewhere else?"

"Someday. Maybe I could convince Sam to let me run away with him when he goes to the university."

"Yes, we all know you have a crush on Sam; but does he even like you back?"

"Must you always be the one to remind us of the harsh reality? A little wishful thinking could do you some good."

Just then, Sue came out of the back door. "Hello, Girls."

"Hi Sue," the three girls greeted in sync.

"Why didn't anyone tell me we were out of bread?" The girls didn't respond. "Right, so I'm heading into the village market with what little we have left in our savings to buy some. So if you could have the rest of the dinner ready by the time I get back?" they all nodded. "Thank you," Sue exited through the gate and headed for the village. She sighed before she began verbalizing her thoughts. "As much as I love two of those girls, I can't wait to see 'em all off and married so that I could have myself _some_ money for a decent meal. And with meat! Oh, it'd be so great to not hear Rachel complain how eating animals is wrong. I could afford meat and other luxuries. Of course that's in the future. It'd be better to have a small fortune now, but eh," she shrugged, "can't complain; I'm sure there are people worse off. But I'd complain less if I was rich. If I were rich I wouldn't have to work, I'd get some finer clothes, I'd buy a better house close to the village that isn't falling apart, maybe some servants, some pets, and I suppose I can be nice and give some to charity," Sue chuckled at that thought. "Everybody's a charity case these days." A familiar fiddle began to play as she neared the village. "First I'd spend that money making sure that I never hear that God-awful fiddle _ever_ again! What price I'd pay to get a little PEACE AND QUIET," her yelling toward the rooftops did not go ignored because soon the music stopped. "Thank you."

* * *

 **I'm not really a fan of '** _ **If I Were a Rich Man**_ **'. Not only that, but I couldn't really include it because Sue's not a man. However, it is referenced at the end/Sue's monologue because it is iconic and because I needed to fill some story time.**

 **Next chapter coming soon.**


	3. The Stranger

**I'm trying to keep like two scenes/plot points per chapter. The last chapter featured ' _Matchmaker, Matchmaker_ ' and _'If I Were a Rich Man'_. So this one features the scene with the other villagers and then the Sabbath and then we'll tackle a longer plot point/two scenes in the following chapter.**

 **With that in mind, here's the next part.**

* * *

Sue continued making her way through the village, bought some bread, and afterwards came across a small crowd near the post office. Curious, she went to join the crowd. Amidst the center of the crowd and holding up a newspaper, was Artie. "I read it in the paper: another village was evacuated. Everyone was evicted and forced to leave their homes."

"Which village?" some people in the crowd asked simultaneously.

"I don't know how to say it, but it's one that's not too far from here."

"Hey Artie," Will began, "why can't you ever bring us good news?"

"I don't make the news I just read it," Artie answered back. "If you want happier news you're better off talking to the town gossip."

"Does it say why they had leave?" Sam inquired.

Artie read over the paper. "No. Maybe the king wanted their land, maybe there's a plague-"

"Here's hoping the royals get a plague!" Beiste spoke up.

"Amen to that," Sue agreed.

"You guys don't actually wish ill on the royals?" Will asked them.

Beiste shrugged. "With every terrible thing they're doing, it'd wouldn't be so bad if something happened to them."

"So why don't you all stop talking and make something happen?" a new, unfamiliar voice spoke up. Turning around, the villagers discovered the voice was coming from a stranger with an even stranger hairstyle. "How can you expect any good to happen if ya'll just stand there and talk and not do a damn thing about it?"

"Are you from this village?" Will asked.

"No."

"Where are you from?"

"Around. I consider myself a worldly kinda guy. As such, I know what's goin' on in the outside world and things don't get done there just by talkin'."

"Well good for the outside world," Beiste commented.

"If you wanna avoid somethin' like the eviction thing happenin' to your village, you should probably take a stand instead of just standin' around."

"And you should be a little more respectful." Other chorused their agreements as the crowd dispersed.

Sue, however, was impressed with this stranger's attitude. "So, you've traveled the world?"

The stranger shrugged. "As much as I could."

"Yeah, well people here are contented, or afraid, or lazy to even leave the village. Truth be told, I don't think any of us have any idea what's going on in the outside world. You'd be a great source of knowledge Mr…"

"Puck."

" _Puck_? What the hell kind of name is _Puck_?"

"My name."

"How'd you come up with a name like that?"

"I'm a son of the House of Puckerman; it's a shorter version of that name."

"House of Puckerman," she contemplated what he said, "sounds pretty fancy."

"It is."

"You don't look like the fancy type."

"I'm a disappointment to my family so they cut me off. Who needs 'em anyway?"

"Well you need a bath or something."

Puck scoffed at that. "Can't really get clean when you're always on the move."

Sue noticed him eying her bread. "I bet you're hungry too," she tore off a piece and offered it to him. "Here."

He was too proud to take it. "I'm broke, but I'm not a beggar."

"It's a gift." He took the piece and devoured it. "You know somethin', Puck: I like this attitude of yours. The proud type of guy who if he doesn't agree with something, makes it clear to _everyone_. That takes plenty of nerve. People can learn a lot from you, and not just things you learned on your travels."

"I ain't no teacher. Heck, I never even finished school."

"Eh, who needs book smarts?"

"My point exactly: school is for suckers. You learn more from experience anyway. I got ambition and potential, and I'm gonna go after 'em."

"How long you gonna be in town?"

Puck shrugged again. "I dunno; hopefully not too long."

"Well why don't you come stay at my house until you're ready to leave. We'll trade food and a roof over your head for menial domestic work and lessons about the world."

"You got some kids I can teach 'em to?"

"I've got three young ladies I've taken in."

This piqued his interest. "Really?"

"I know that look. I'm guessing you're quite the charmer with the ladies." He gave a cocky sort of shrug. "If you want to stay, it'll be _lessons_ only."

"Okay, deal."

"And maybe the girls can teach you a few things you need to know about our village."

"Like what?"

Cue the fiddle. Sue growled in irritation. "Everything but who that damn fiddler is."

"Why's that guy playing on a roof?"

"We don't even know if it's a _he_. I don't even consider whoever they are a real musician."

"I dunno, I don't think it sounds so bad."

She put her arm around his shoulder. "Give it time, you will."

…

The girls were putting dinner on the table when Sue returned. "Hello, ladies." Once again, the girls greeted her in unison. "Ladies, this is Puck. He'll be staying with us for the duration of his visit. Puck: I'd like to introduce you to Rachel," Rachel curtsied, "Brittany."

"Hi," Brittany waved.

"And Quinn," Quinn just acknowledged him with a curt nod. "Ladies, Puck is our guest for dinner tonight so set another plate."

"Oh, I…" Rachel wasn't sure how to say what she had to say, "…I invited Finn to join us for dinner tonight. I don't know if we'll have another plate."

"It's cool," Puck assured her. "I'll eat off a napkin or somethin'." He took a seat. "And I'm not really a guest. I've traded my services for food and shelter."

Quinn quirked a brow to him. "And what _services_ do you provide exactly?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Quinn just glared at him.

"Our new gentleman friend will be helping around the house and teaching you girls what he's learned from his world travels," Sue explained.

"What could he possibly teach us?" Quinn rather bitingly questioned back. "Did you go to a university Mr. Puck?"

"You can drop the 'mister' part," Puck told her. "And no, I didn't."

"Then you're not exactly qualified to teach us."

"I'm not gonna teach you anything you can learn from some stupid book. Just some useful life lessons and how the world works. Besides, I consider myself a pretty good teacher."

"Interesting, because I consider you an arrogant, dirty freeloader."

"Listen here, Blondie-"

Rachel clapped her hands together. "Dinner!" Quinn made sure to take a seat away from their guest. "I'll see if Finn's finished washing up," Rachel headed upstairs for the tiny washroom where Finn was standing as if he was waiting for her. "Finn, it's time to eat." He nodded to her. "Is everything okay?"

Finn was visibly nervous. "I had to wait until we were alone so I could talk to you."

"Is everything alright?"

"Someone in the village said that April the Matchmaker came to your house today," there was a hint of worry in his tone. "Is it true?"

Rachel sighed. "Yes, it's true. She and Sue were having a discussion that I wasn't allowed to listen in on."

"So you know why April came over?"

"I have a pretty good guess why."

"Rachel, if you give me a week, I can-"

"A week may be too late!"

"But in a week I'll have enough to pay the matchmaker's fee and she'll match us up. Until then there's nothing else we can do."

"Yes there is! You can ask Sue for my hand in marriage, _tonight_."

"Tonight?"

" _Now_!"

" _Now_?" his voice squeaked.

"If you don't do it now, you'll miss your chance forever."

"What if she yells at me?"

"Finn!"

"Rachel, I can't do this! I'm a nobody! I'm worthless."

"Not to me, you're not!" There was a moment of silence between them. "I love you, Finn."

"I love you too, Rachel. But if Sue says no, it's final; I can't do anything about it."

"And we'll both be miserable for the rest of our lives."

"Like you wouldn't be miserable if you married me? I'm poor, I can't give you anything."

"You've already given me your love," Rachel cupped his face in her hands. "And everyone is entitled to some happiness no matter who they are or how poor they may be."

"That's true," he took her hands in his. "And I would be happy with you." They leaned in for a kiss.

"Food!" but the moment was ruined by Sue calling to them for dinner.

Rachel squeezed his hand. " _Now_."

Finn swallowed and nodded before the two of them let go and went downstairs. "Um, Sue."

"Not now, Finn."

"But, Sue-"

"Later, Finn."

"Sue!"

"What?" she didn't exactly yell, but she did raise her voice. Regardless, it was enough to frighten Finn. "What do you want?"

"Um…" he couldn't do it, "...thanks for letting me stay for dinner." Rachel's face fell.

"Is that it?" Finn bobbed his head. "Good, now sit, eat." Rachel shook her head in disappointment as she sat across from Finn. "You two were up there for a while," she had cast some suspicion in her tone.

"Oh. We, um…we were...talking."

"What about?"

"School stuff."

"Uh-huh," Sue decided not to pursue this topic any further. "Finn, I'd like to formerly introduce you to Puck," Puck nodded to the other male. "Puck will temporarily be staying with us."

"Nice to meet you, Puck"

"Same," Puck kept his intro short. "So, Finn, I take it you're friends with the girls."

A nod. "Mostly Rachel. Rachel and I have been friends since we were little."

"Just _friends_?" of course Puck was implying more than that.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Quinn admonished him.

"I can't help but be a little curious."

"We're just good friends," Rachel spoke. As Brittany opened her mouth, Rachel silenced her with a glare.

"Oh I get it: this village still does the matchmaking thing," Puck gave a chuckle. "No offense: but isn't that a little old-fashioned?"

"Our village isn't big on change," Sue replied. "We happen to like our traditions."

"Whatever," Puck helped himself to another piece of bread. "They don't do that anymore where I'm from."

"Where _exactly_ are you from?" Quinn acted as though she was interrogating him.

"Let's just say I've been around. I've seen the world and I don't intend to settle any place unless there was something worth settling for."

"Like a wife?"

"Or like somethin' worth dyin' for."

"Instead of something or someone worth living for?"

Puck flashed her a cocky smirk. "Is this your idea of flirting with me, Blondie?"

"No, it is not. And my name is Quinn."

"This dinner feels awkward," Brittany commented.

"I agree," Sue stood up to leave. "I've frankly had quite enough of you people and I have somewhere I need to be anyway."

"Where are you going?" Rachel inquired.

"It's business; that's all you need to know. If you'll excuse me," Sue excused herself from the table and left.

After some tensed silence, Brittany spoke up again with, "I changed my mind, I miss the talking."

* * *

 **I wasn't quite sure how to end this, but I needed a transition for the meeting between Sue and Burt and I tried (key word** _ **tried**_ **) to end on a humorous note.**


	4. The Celebration

**I never have anything to say anymore. Here's the next part.**

* * *

"Emma," Burt made his way over to the bar, "can I get a bottle of your finest brandy and two glasses?"

"Finest?" Emma seemed impressed by this. "What's the occasion?"

"If all goes well, a wedding."

"A wedding? Does this mean you've been matched up with one of our lucky ladies again?"

"No, the match is for Kurt; I just need to discuss everything before we make it official."

"With who?" As if on cue, Sue entered. "With Sue?"

"With Sue," Burt carried the brandy and glasses to one of the tables. "Hello Sue," he set a glass in front of the empty chair. "Sit down, have a drink."

"Well, I do like sitting and drinking," Sue sat down and helped herself to some brandy.

"So how goes it?"

"How should it go?"

"Alright, alright, sorry for asking."

"I'm not one for small talk, Bertram."

"My name isn't-"

"April said you had things to discuss with me, so discuss the things."

"Alright," Burt cleared his throat. "I love my son and I want to ensure he lives a long, happy life. Don't get me wrong: he seems fairly happy right now, but I think he'd be happier with a wife. Kurt's a very outgoing kid, he makes friends easily, and he loves being in the company of his friends. So I thought he'd be happier if he married one of his friends. He seems to be closest to Rachel and Mercedes, but Mercedes' father was hoping to pair her with that Sam kid."

"So Rachel's the consolation?" Sue laughed at that. "I like that notion."

"Well I like Rachel. I've known her for a while now and I think she's a great match for Kurt. Listen: I'm not expecting you to have a dowry or anything, so I won't ask you for a thing. I just feel that Kurt would be happier if he married one of his friends. But since this is a match set up by a parent, the other head of the house has to agree to make this match official."

"Well, I do like Kurt. His skin looks like porcelain, and for some reason I'm comforted by that. But I don't like Rachel and I'd rather see her miserable." Sue thought about this. "On the other hand, I want her out of my house," a new thought occurred to Sue. "And Miss Priss doesn't like meat, yet she'll be marrying the son of a butcher," Sue looked at Burt. "Your butcher shop is connected to your house right?" Burt nodded. "Can they live there?"

"Sure, until they can find a place of their own."

"Just so long as they don't have to live with me."

"So it's a match?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

An excited Burt waved his hand. "Emma, a round of your finest drinks for everyone; my treat!" the inn patrons cheered. Once everyone had a drink, Burt stood as he poured himself some brandy. "I'd like to make a toast now that an official match has been made! A toast to my son Kurt and his bride-to-be Rachel."

"Cheers!" everyone raised their glasses.

"And Sue," Burt clinked his glass with hers, "here's to you for agreeing to this match."

"No, no," she clinked her glass with his, "here's to you for helping me get rid of Rachel. She's your problem now, pal."

"Rachel and Kurt getting married," Burt thought about that. "Gives you somethin' to think about."

"Somethin' to drink about if you ask me," and down the hatch the brandy went.

"I really think they'll have a good future together." Sue did the so-so gesture with her hand. "And there's nothing like a wedding to bring a community together."

"What are we celebrating?" a hush fell over the crowd as they realized the voice came from Santana, one of The Unmentionables. "No, no, don't stop on my account."

"Santana," Emma hurried over to her, "you're supposed to wait outside."

"What? I can't offer my congratulations to whatever needs to be congratulated? You think my best wishes are going to bring about a curse or a plague? Honestly people, you can't catch a disease from a homosexual," the patrons gasped at how casually she used that word.

"Santana, please."

"Fine," Santana gave one last glare. "Mazel Tov, I suppose."

Burt scoffed at this. "It's just like one of them Unmentionables to ruin everything."

"That one's got a mouth on her," Sue noted. "I'd respect that if she wasn't the way she was. Unnatural if you ask me."

"A sin against human nature."

"Ah well, try not to let 'em spoil the mood. This is a festive occasion and it calls for ANOTHER ROUND!" that certainly perked up sprits. "You're buyin',' she said to Burt.

Burt gave some sort of laugh at that. "Alright." There was another pause as Sue took another drink. "You think we should tell the kids together or…" Sue slammed down her empty glass and belched. "Yeah, that's attractive."

"I say we give the kids one last night of total freedom and tell 'em when they come home from school. Rachel usually likes to go to bed freakishly early anyway so I wouldn't be surprised if she's sleeping when I get home."

"And now that Rachel's been matched, maybe your other girls'll be matched soon and you'll have that house to yourself."

Sue raised her glass. "Here's hopin'," she downed another drink.

"So," Will approached the table, "Emma tells me there's cause for celebration and you're buying the drinks, Burt."

"I've arranged a match between my son and Rachel, and Sue has given an official agreement."

"Say, that _is_ a cause for celebration," Will hurried over to piano player. "Play something worth celebrating." The pianist quickly changed his tune and began to play something more upbeat and fast that Will started dancing to. Soon enough, all the other men had joined in on the dancing (even the badly dancing Burt). Even if Sue wanted to dance—which she didn't—men and women dancing together was considered taboo so she just sat back and watched, helping herself to any undrunk drinks. She was considerate enough to applaud when the music stopped and the dancing ended.

"Well Burt it's been fun," Sue started as Burt made his way back to the table and the crowds began to clear out, "but I think I'm gonna head home."

"Already?" he looked at the clock on the wall as someone in the background lamented "What happened to my drink?". "The night's still young, we still have to talk about the wedding details."

"You know I don't really care for that kind of talk. Kurt and Rachel, yeah they seem to enjoy planning and detailing, so they should probably have a say on when they want to get married and how. Heck, Kurt'll probably need time to sew himself a wedding dress." Burt raised his brow to her. "For Rachel."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"So thanks for the drinks, and I'll see you 'round."

"Don't be a stranger. We're practically family anyway."

"Yeah, yeah," Sue swiped a bottle of brandy before she left.

"Good evening Sue," Constable Figgins was on patrol near the inn when Sue exited. "It sounds as though congratulations are in order. What is the occasion?"

"I've agreed to match Rachel to the butcher's son, Kurt."

"Well, that is worthy of a congratulations. " Sue shrugged and started walking away. "Wait, Sue," she turned around, "as a friend, I feel I must warn you-"

"You and I are not friends."

"I consider myself a friend to everyone in the village. That is why I must pass around this warning."

"To _me_?"

"To any head of a household I encounter. Sue, there is talk of the royals ordering an unofficial demonstration to this village."

"You don't say?"

"I do say. Lately these demonstrations are becoming more and more violent and have killed innocent people. Some royal soldiers have even taken to burning down people's homes. Sue, this is a very serious matter."

"I know it's serious." A beat. "How serious?"

"Very."

"Yeah, you…you mentioned that part. I meant what are they going to do?"

"Hopefully it is only mischief where no one is hurt and only possessions are destroyed. If I could tell you when it was going to be I would, but it is only talk. But royals are less talk and more action."

Sue couldn't help but think of something similar Puck had told her earlier. "Well, thanks for the early warning Figgy. I'll be sure to pass it along if you can't."

"You are a decent person, Sue."

"And you really know how to kill a good mood," Sue took a swig of her drink. "See you 'round, Figgy," she began stumbling toward her home as a fiddle began to play in the distance. "ARGH!" she blocked her ears. "IS THAT REALLY NECESSARY RIGHT NOW?" the music stopped. "Thank you!" She groaned. "It's bad enough I'm gonna have to hear it tomorrow morning."

* * *

 **That's where the scene ended, so that's where I ended. Next part should be up soon-ish if all goes well.**


	5. The Changes

**I needed to give the "dream sequence" its own chapter so the plot points that came before it are combined in this chapter. So here's a chapter for you shippers out there; trust me when I say it's gonna be romantic.**

* * *

Brittany suggested if Puck was going to experience what the village had to offer, he should go to school. So he did. Of course Quinn would regret not trying hard enough to stop him from coming. Naturally, Puck disrupted the class on several occasions—even insulting Sam much to both Quinn and Sam's embarrassment—and Will had Puck kicked out of the classroom. Of course, this was something the teacher never did because he felt everyone deserved an education, but the new guy was a nuisance. The final straw was when Puck protested against book learning and that real life was the only way to get an education. Needless to say, Puck was not popular with the teacher.

He was, however, popular with the other students. During their recess, Brittany, Mercedes, Tina, and Artie had gathered around him eager to hear what he had to say. Kurt tried to busy himself with his sewing, but even he couldn't help but take interest in what Puck had to say. Quinn, meanwhile, distanced herself and tried to read her book (to no avail). And Finn and Rachel had secluded themselves from everyone so that they could talk.

"…that's just the way things are done over there," Puck was finishing a "lecture". He then bit into the apple he "borrowed" off the teacher's desk. "The whole 'matchmaker' thing is pretty much non-existent. But not every place has the same customs when it comes to romance and junk. There are some religious cultures that allow you to choose your own mate, but you gotta save your kiss for the wedding. You can hold hands, sure, but that's as far as you're gonna get."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "You can even hold hands without permission from a matchmaker?"

Puck nodded. "Without permission from a parent if you wanted."

"What happens if the couple does kiss or something before they're married?"

Puck shrugged. "Dunno; most people are either too stubborn or too scared to break from tradition."

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" Tina inquired.

"Sure, lots of 'em," they gasped. "You can kiss while you're in a…they call it a 'courtship' in some places. Hell, you can even have sex without being married," another round of gasps. "And courtships don't even have to lead to marriages. I should know: I've had my fair share of meaningless courtships." The ringing of the bell got everyone's attention. "I guess I'll see you guys after class." As everyone headed toward the school, one person headed towards Puck. "Hello, Q. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"First of all, my name is _Quinn_ ," she coldly corrected. "And second: I don't appreciate how casually you talk of all the changes you think our village should make." Puck started to laugh. "What?"

"I saw you starin' when I started talking more about romance. Be honest: you wouldn't mind if things change in _that_ department." Quinn didn't answer. "Especially if you want to marry the teacher's apprentice."

"How do you know about that?"

"Rachel told me."

"Rachel does have a big mouth."

"Why him?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why do you want to marry him? I know you're attracted to him, but is that all there is? No, wait, there's also the fact that when he takes over as teacher, he'll have a high status in the village. Society does tend to favor those with high statuses."

"You have no right to-"

"What do you know about him?" Quinn was somewhat taken aback by that. "Seriously, tell me something you know about him."

"I know he doesn't have any strange ideas about turning the world upside down."

"That doesn't count. Tell me something personal or something you really like or notice about him." Quinn couldn't. "I'm guessin' that before your daddy died, you had a pretty cushy lifestyle. If you wanted, you could have Daddy buy the boy you wanted to marry just because the boy was good-looking. Which is probably the basis for a lot of these marriages anyway."

"I suppose being disrespectful to a lady is another one of them new-fangled traditions you're trying to shove down our throats?"

"I treat everyone equally and I have an equal right to share my beliefs and opinions."

"Well we happen to like our beliefs and opinions just fine."

"And they're changing all over."

"Not here!"

"You know somethin' Q-"

" _Quinn_."

"-you're smart, but you strike me as the romantic type of girl; the one who fantasizes she's a princess waiting to meet her Prince Charming. Love can make even the smartest of people stupid." Quinn glowered at him. "But you're not in love."

She quirked her brow. "Really?"

"You just think you are because you're attracted to the guy. You don't know if you're really in love because you've never gotten to experience what it's like to fall in love."

"And I suppose you have?"

" _Love_ is a strong word. Sure I've been attracted to, liked, even lusted after women," she made a disgusted face, "but I never _loved_ them." He inched closer to her. "Yeah I've flirted, I've charmed, I've even held my fair share of hands," he took Quinn's hands in hers. Interestingly enough, both of them nervously pulled away as if they felt something more than just the other person's hands. Puck cleared his throat before circling around her. "I bet men and women aren't allowed to dance with each other here." Quinn tensed up and said nothing. "Granted I'm not that good of a dancer, but I have danced with women before." He grabbed her hands and began dancing. "Like this," Puck was making up the music as he demonstrated the dance. At one point in the dance, he twirled her and brought her close to him. "You like it?"

A startled Quinn could only answer back with, "It's very nice."

"Don't be afraid to get in a little closer," he brought in her closer and they began to sway a little slower; the two of them looking longingly into each other's eyes. Eventually, the dancing stopped. "See that Q," Puck swallowed the lump in his throat, "you and I have just changed an old custom."

They continued to stare into each other's eyes until Quinn broke free from his hold. "I have to get back to class," as she ran toward the school, she froze, quickly turned around, and gave Puck a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she quietly thanked before running back into the school.

He rubbed the spot where he kissed her. "Thank _you_."

…

By the time the girls (and Puck) had returned home from school, Sue was still hungover. When they each greeted her, she winced at the noise. "Ugh, go away, leave me alone." Confused, everyone began to disperse. "Rachel!" all of the girls (and Puck) stopped, curious to what Sue was about to say. "It appears congratulations are in order."

Rachel stiffened, hoping the news wasn't what she feared. "Oh? Why?"

"I finalized an arrangement with Burt the butcher last night. You are going to marry his son, Kurt."

" _Kurt_?"

Brittany had begun to say, "How come she's marrying Kurt instead of Fi-"

-but Quinn quickly covered Brittany's mouth with her hand. "Don't mind Brittany. We're really happy for you, Rachel."

"No you're not," leave it to Puck to tell it like it is. "It's obvious no one's happy about this." Quinn glared at him. "However, I will extend my congratulations for landing yourself a rich husband, Rachel. Mazel Tov."

Sue groaned at him. "Honestly Puck, there's nothing wrong with being rich."

"Yeah, but it's no reason to marry either. Money is the world's curse."

"Then may the good Lord smite me with it. It's not like that's the only reason I approved the match. Kurt is a good friend to Rachel, and I happen to like him. He and his father make a decent living, sure, but I'm only looking out for what's best for Rachel."

"Are you, Sue?" Rachel coldly questioned back. "Or did you agree to this because you knew I would be miserable?"

Sue turned her attention to Brittany, Quinn, and Puck, "Leave now." They dared not disobey. Sue waited until they were gone before she moved closer to Rachel. "It's no secret I don't like you and I want to see you suffer, but what gives you the right to talk to me like that?"

"Sue, I can't marry Kurt."

"You will if I tell you to."

"If this is a matter of money I'll do anything. I'll haul rocks, I'll dig ditches, I'll sell myself as a servant, I'll even sell _myself_. Just please don't let me marry Kurt! I'm begging."

Sue did love when people begged. "What's wrong with Kurt? I thought you were his friend."

"Yes, his _friend_. I care a lot about Kurt, but I don't love him."

"What's love got to do with marriage?"

"Everything!" Rachel had a thought. "You want me out of this house. You're agreed to this just so you can be rid of me!"

"That's just a bonus that comes with the marriage."

"If you force me to marry him I won't be happy. If you don t like me when I'm happy, you'd really hate to be around me when I'm _unhappy_."

"You won't be living here."

"I beg to differ. My father bought this house and I know he left it to me. I'm willing to have a court battle over this. Or we could avoid courts and I could always show up for unexpected, uninvited visits. Maybe my equally miserable husband and I will build a home next door."

"I can't help that he'll be miserable when he marries you."

"Yes, you can. You can do that by dissolving the agreement. Or I'll see to it I make your life more of a living hell because you were the one who forced me to marry someone I didn't love."

"I can't really argue with that." Sue blew out a breath. "The problem is I already agreed to this arrangement. I can't take back my word."

"I know you're a woman who keeps your promises. Did you use the word 'promise' when you agreed to force me into marriage?" Sue paused to reflect. "Did you?"

"No, I didn't."

"But you did promise my father on his deathbed that you would see to it that I would be happy and taken care of. You used that word. And you've never been one to break a promise." A beat. "You're one of the smartest, craftiest women I know. I'm sure you can think of some way to weasel our way out of this."

Sue exhaled a long breath. "I do like a challenge."

"So?"

"Okay, fine, you don't have to marry Kurt!"

"Oh thank you!" Rachel flung herself at Sue. "Thank you!"

"Alright, get off me," Sue pushed her off. "Don't ever do that again."

"Rachel!" Finn was sprinting toward the house calling Rachel's name. "Rachel!" He rushed over to her. "Rachel, tell me it's not true. Tell me you're not marrying Kurt."

Rachel smiled at him. "I'm not going to marry Kurt." Finn blew out a sigh of relief. "But maybe I'll get to marry somebody else."

"Huh?" When Rachel guided his gaze toward Sue, Finn seemed to suddenly understand. "Oh!" He cleared his throat. "Sue…" his confidence waivered and he went silent, "…um…uh…you see…uh…"

"Finn has something he wants to talk to you about," Rachel prompted.

"I do?" Rachel gave him a pointed glare. "Oh yeah, I do!"

After waiting for a response, Sue waved her hand for him to continue. "You have a tongue, don't you? Talk."

"I heard there was a match for Rachel."

"He also has ears," Sue muttered under her breath.

"But I think I have a better match for Rachel."

"You do?"

"One that Kurt would say was made to measure. A match that fits like a glove."

Sue was getting more agitated that her voice raised slightly. "You gonna talk like a tailor now?"

"Please don't yell at me."

"Alright, I won't."

"And promise you won't get mad either?"

"Well that's never a good sign." Finn didn't say anything. "Well," she motioned for him to continue, "who is it?"

"Who is it?"

She raised her voice again. "I swear if you don't answer, I'm gonna-"

"ME!" Finn's answer brought the quiet. "Myself. Finn."

"You? So you're arranging your own match?" Her expression was quickly becoming angrier. "Are you out of your mind?"" Finn backed away. "I suppose next you'll be telling me you want to perform the ceremony yourself too?"

"I know it seems crazy that someone would arrange their own match-"

"Crazy? It's INSANE!"

"It wasn't when I asked Rachel to marry me last year!" Both Finn and Rachel gasped at that.

Sue turned to Rachel. "What?"

"Last year, Finn asked me to marry him," that was only part one of Rachel's confession. "And I said yes."

"That's not the way things are done here."

"Maybe not now," Finn spoke up, "but someday things'll change. Maybe that Puck guy had a point when he said some things are done by example. Change is scary, but it's inevitable. And it's inevitable that I marry Rachel," proud tears began to pool in Rachel's eyes. "Rachel and I can be the example that'll bring in some changes for the better."

"These things have to okayed by the father or-"

"You're not her father!"

"-or the head of the house."

"I've been too afraid to ask you, so I've been saving up money to have the matchmaker set us up."

"But you're nothing, Finn! You're still a boy! How are you going to take care of a wife when you can barely take care of yourself?"

"I may not be a someone, but I know that _everyone_ is entitled to a little happiness no matter who they are or how poor they may be. I love Rachel, and I'll promise you that she will not starve." And _that_ was the moment Finn became a man.

Sue had to admit, she was impressed. She let out a deep breath. "It's not like things are gonna get any worse for you."

Finn exchanged glances with Rachel. "Does that mean-"

"Yes," the young couple began to celebrate, "but only if you get her out of the house! I don't care whether or not she starves, just keep her away from me."

"Deal," Finn and Sue shook hands. "Thank you, Sue, you won't be sorry."

"I'm sorry already." She headed for the house. "How am I going to explain to Burt that Rachel will be marrying his _stepson_." Sue had an idea. "Sue, you are one crafty bastard," she hurried into the house.

Meanwhile, Rachel threw herself into Finn's embrace. "Oh Finn!" she kissed him, "Finn, you were wonderful! What just happened was a miracle!"

"A miracle of miracles!" Finn lifted her off the ground and spun her around to her delight. "I can't believe I did that," he set her down. "I stood up to Sue, I became a man."

She took his hand in hers. "And I'm so proud of you!"

"I never thought this would happen."

"What, you standing up to Sue?"

"No," he tenderly brushed her hair back, "me being able to marry you."

"Oh, Finn," she let him lean down to kiss her.

...

Having been told to leave, Brittany literally left. She decided to take this time to practice some more dancing lessons. As she danced, she was unaware that she was being watched. "You're not so bad," this voice complimented. Brittany ignored it, and continued to dance. "What, no 'thank you'?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to you," Brittany responded.

Santana snorted at that. "Why not?"

"Because you're one of the people Sue said I couldn't talk to."

"Why can't you talk to me?"

"I don't know, I just can't."

"You have no idea why?" Brittany shook her head. "I can assure you there's nothing wrong with me. They just don't want you to be seen with me because people think I'm diseased."

"Are you?"

Santana shook her head. "No."

"So what's wrong with you?"

"I'm a girl who likes girls." Brittany stopped. "My parents tried to match me up with some guy and when I told them I like girls…well, they were more understanding than some. But when word got around, about my lifestyle choices, the backwards people here practically forced my parents to kick me out.'

"If your parents understand, why can't you stay with them regardless?"

Santana bowed her head. "They died."

"I'm sorry." A beat. "My parents are dead too."

"That sucks."

"You know, I don't think it's weird that you like girls. I mean, boys are gross and mean, and I don't know any I like either."

Santana looked up at her. "When I said I liked girls I meant that I'm _attracted_ to girls. Like if I was to ever become romantically involved with someone, it would be with a girl. I'm a homosexual."

The innocent-minded Brittany shrugged. "What's wrong with that?"

Santana couldn't help but smile at Brittany's naivety. "Society expects relationships to be between men and women so the world can keep getting overpopulated. Do you know where babies come from?"

"The stork?"

"They don't teach you in school?"

"Teacher Will says that's something for your parents to teach you right before you get married."

"That's bull. These are things you need to know ahead of time and they can't teach you them in school?" Brittany shook her head. "Then I guess maybe I should teach you."

"I already have a teacher. Plus there's a new guy who tells us about stuff that's happening outside the village."

"Honey, there are some things that only a woman can teach you. Tell you what: I'll teach you what I know, and you can teach me what you know; like how to dance."

"Okay, we'll be each other's teachers," Brittany held out her hand. "I'm Brittany."

Santana shook it. "Santana."

"Santana, how can we teach each other if I'm not supposed to be seen with you?"

"Is there any place near your house where we can meet?"

"Nothing but a bunch of trees."

"You mean like woods?"

"I guess so; trees are made of wood."

Santana let out a laugh. "You know somethin' Britt, you're really special."

"Thanks Santana. You're really special too."

"So, you think we can start on some of those dance lessons? I mean, there's nothing wrong with girls dancing together."

"Um, okay, sure. We'll start slow: do what I do."

"We're not gonna dance together?"

"We'll work our way up to it. Is that okay?"

"I'd like that."

"Good. Now go like this," Brittany demonstrated a dance, and Santana copied it. "It's one of the more basic steps you'll need if you want to do this," she gave a brief dance exhibition which Santana applauded. "But that may take some time to learn."

"Not with a teacher as amazing as you." The two girls smiled at each other. "Now uh," Santana cleared her throat, "I guess we're gonna start off pretty simple, right?"

"Nothing about this will be simple, Santana." It was unclear if there was a hidden message in that simple statement. "Come on: let's do the first move again."

* * *

 **In the stage production, the sequence following** _ **"Miracle of Miracles"**_ **was the infamous dream sequence, but in the movie, it was the first scene between Chava & Fyedka. I thought since I kinda gave the other girls' romance the spotlight, I'll include Brittany's in here too. And this way, each couple gets their own little dance sequence—I consider Finn spinning Rachel as a very brief dance.**

 **How, oh how is everything going to get fixed?**


	6. The Dream

**I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of you are curious how I'm going to do this sequence. Don't worry: this was one of the few things I worked out first. However, there was one other aspect I worked out as I started typing...**

 **...and that was giving this chapter a brief musical segment.**

* * *

Dressed in an oversized nightshirt at a very late hour of the night, this was the perfect time for Sue to enact her plan. She had slowly made her way to Burt's home, and then frantically pounded on his door.

Instead, Burt's son answered the door. "Sue?" he rubbed his tired eyes. "What are you doing here?' He looked at her evening wear. "And in a man's nightshirt?"

"Hello Porcelain," she calmly greeted. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to speak to your father."

"At this hour?"

"Well, if you want to marry Rachel, then I'll just-"

"DAD, DOOR!" that did the trick. "You really found a way to call of the match?"

Sue nodded. "Not that it was easy, but yes I did. If you want, you can hang around and be inspired."

Burt came to the door wearing the exact same nightshirt. "Sue, what's going on?"

She was quick to put on the frightened act. "Burt, we have to call off the match!"

"What? No!"

"You don't understand, we _have_ to do this."

"Why?"

"Why? You were there, you should know!"

"Where?"

"In my dream!"

"I was in your _dream_?"

"It all seemed so real."

"Then your dream must've meant something," Kurt was playing along. "Tell us about it."

"I'm afraid it'll frighten you."

"Tell us," Kurt requested while Burt demanded.

"Alright." Sue cleared her throat. "Picture this: Dream Sue is asleep in bed-"

"Wearing the same nightshirt as me," Burt commented.

"-when she wakes up in a cemetery. Oddly enough, Dream Burt is with her…"

…

" _Why the heck are we even in a cemetery?" Dream Burt questioned as he explored the foggy surroundings. "And why are we in bed together?"_

" _Quiet Dream Burt," Dream Sue ordered. "So here we are in the cemetery when…"_

 _As if on cue, a bunch of ghosts began to gather in the cemetery. Two particular ghosts came closer to the bed. "Is that," Dream Burt seemed to recognize the male ghost, "is that Hiram?" Ghost Hiram was wearing the traditional Jewish garb (yarmulke included)._

" _Yeah, that's Hiram—may he rest in peace."_

" _Who's the woman with him?"_

" _His first wife Shelby, Rachel's mother."_

 _Dream Burt seemed to like what he saw. "She doesn't look so bad for a dead woman—may she rest in peace."_

 _Ghost Shelby curtsied before she began to sing._ "A blessing on your head."

"Mazel Tov. Mazel Tov," _Ghost_ _Hiram joined in._

"To see my daughter wed."

"Mazel Tov. Mazel Tov."

"This day has come at last; Rachel has found her match. And that young Finn, he's quite the catch."

 _Dream Burt's expression showed the utmost confusion. "_ Finn _?"_

"He's such a handsome boy."

"Mazel Tov. Mazel Tov," _Ghost_ _Hiram accompanied._

"He brings our Rachel joy."

"Mazel Tov. Mazel Tov."

"So let our family bless, their lifelong happiness."

"For this match is the very best," _all of the ghosts harmonized._

 _But Dream Burt was still in disbelief. "_ Finn _?"_

" _It didn't make sense to me either," Dream Sue pretended to agree before getting out of bed and walking to Ghost Shelby. "Shelby, you must have heard wrong. Rachel's not marrying Finn."_

 _Ghost Shelby shot her a confused look. "She's not?"_

 _Dream Sue gestured to Dream Burt. "No, she's marrying his son,_ Kurt _." All of the ghosts gasped._

" _No," Ghost Shelby calmly protested. "My Rachel is marrying_ Finn _," she stressed out the intended's name before she began to sing again._ "The two were meant to be."

"Mazel Tov. Mazel Tov," _all of the ghosts were singing backup now._

"It is their destiny."

"Mazel Tov. Mazel Tov."

"And so I say again: Rachel will marry Finn. Our girl was always meant for him."

 _Dream Sue turned to Dream Burt and sighed. "The dead woman's deadset on her daughter marrying Finn."_

" _Excuse me," Dream Burt called for Ghost Shelby's attention, "yeah, hi, see…we have a little problem." Ghost Shelby narrowed her eyes at him. "We made it official that your Rachel would marry my Kurt. It's too late for us to take back what we-" the ground began to shake. "Uh, wait a sec, what's going on?"_

" _LOOK!" one of the ghosts pointed to a standalone grave._

" _Hey Dream Burt," Dream Sue started, "isn't that Carole's grave?" This was confirmed when the ghost of Carole rose from the ground and flew over to a petrified Dream Burt while the other ghosts hid in fear. "Oh, hey Ghost Carole."_

 _Ghost Carole had her arms folded across her chest. "What's this I hear about Kurt marrying Rachel?"_

 _Dream Burt was struggling to explain himself. "Well, Carole, I thought-"_

" _My son is good enough to work in your shop, but he's not good enough to marry the girl he's always loved?"_

" _To be fair, I didn't know Finn and Rachel-"_

" _When I think of my poor son. Having to grow up without a father, then losing his mother, and now you must take away his only chance at happiness for the benefit of the son you've always spoiled?"_

" _I wouldn't exactly use the world_ spoiled _but-"_

" _Does your son not have every luxury and comfort he has asked for?"_

" _Well, no, but-"'_

" _You're going to deprive_ my _son of what makes him happy for something you only think makes_ your _son happy?"_

" _Kurt seemed okay with the match."_

" _Oh did he? Are you sure he wasn't just refusing the father who gave him said luxury and comforts?"_

" _Well...I admit, he didn't sound_ that _excited-"_

" _So that would be an unhappy Finn, an unhappy Kurt, and an unhappy Rachel."_

" _An unhappy trifecta," Dream Sue commented._

" _And you, Burt, you as the cause of their misery, will live the remainder of your life with guilt, and shame, and see all three of them die early because they were too unhappy to take care of themselves. Not to mention that I'll haunt your sorry ass until the day you die. And when that day comes, I'll see to it that the most miserable person in this afterlife is_ you _." Dream Burt gulped. "However, all of this can change if you agree to the following demands."_

 _Dream Burt bobbed his head even before hearing them. "Yes! Yes! What do I have to do?"_

" _You must perform these three redeeming deeds. First, you call off the match between Kurt and Rachel and give your blessing for Finn to marry to her instead. Second, you and Kurt must provide the feast and the attire for the wedding at no cost. And third, and most important, you must buy my son and his new bride a home."_

" _I must_ what _?"_

" _Any home will do, but it would hold more meaning if you bought him the one I lived in before I married you," Ghost Carole turned to Dream Sue. "It's empty right?"_

 _Dream Sue shrugged. "Last I checked."_

" _Well anywhere is fine as long as it's not your house."_

 _Dream Sue feigned offense. "What's wrong with my house?"_

" _I always thought your house was tacky."_

" _Tacky?"_

" _The point is," Ghost Carole turned to Dream Burt, "bad things will happen if you go through with the marriage of Kurt and Rachel."_

" _Hold up," Dream Burt began, "if all this bad stuff is happening to_ our _family and to Rachel, why did you go to Sue? She's not even related to Rachel?"_

" _I went to Sue to scare her. Sue likes to see Rachel miserable and would have allowed Rachel to marry Kurt."_

 _Dream Sue nodded to Dream Burt. "Yeah, I would do that."_

" _But_ _Sue also happens to take dreams seriously."_

" _Yeah, I do do that."_

" _And a dream like this has gotta mean somethin', right?" Dream Sue nodded. "Like a sign from God or whatever."_

" _A bad omen."_

" _Plus you were the one who started to the arrangement so you're the one who has to end it."_

" _Maybe April will give you your money back." Ghost Carole pointed at Sue with a 'she's got a point' type look. "So that's a win."_

" _Well Burt," Ghost Carole flew right in Dream Burt's face. "What's it gonna be?"_

…

"Wow," Burt was awed by what was described to him, "that's some dream."

"Dad," Kurt waited until his father faced him, "if Carole and Rachel's parents—may they rest in peace—and even _you_ were in Sue's dream, it has to mean something. I think you should call off the match."

"What about you? Would you really be unhappy if you married Rachel?"

"Honestly," Kurt nodded, "yes, I would." Burt's face faltered a little. "I want to marry someone I love and I don't love Rachel. Besides, even I knew she and Finn were meant to be."

"If it makes you feel better," Sue started, "I'll go with you when you tell April you want to end the arrangement. I mean, I was the one who came to you in the dead of night wanting to end the arrangement."

"But _I_ have to be the one to end it because I'm the one who started it," Burt concluded. He paused before releasing a deep sigh. "Alright, I'll break off the arrangement."

Kurt hugged his father. "Thank you, Dad!"

Sue, meanwhile, was acting all nonchalant. "Well alright, if that's what's best. We'll cancel everything tomorrow afternoon?" Burt nodded. "I suppose I better get back home and try to rest. Hopefully your wife and Rachel's equally irritating family won't bother me in my sleep anymore. That song they sang is one annoyingly catchy little tune that's going to forever rot in my brain. Anyway, goodnight gentlemen." As Sue headed back for her home, a familiar sound caught her attention. "UGH!" she growled as she looked toward the rooves. "SERIOUSLY! Do you ever sleep?" The fiddler stopped. "Thank you," she continued for her house. "I'd rather listen to that damn ' _Mazel Tov. Mazel Tov_ ' song again than hear that stupid fiddle."

* * *

 **I'll admit, this chapter was a little harder to write for; but I'm pleased with how it turned out. Hope you guys are too.**


	7. The Wedding

**So this chapter—"The Wedding"—contains (spoiler alert) a wedding.**

* * *

There were two ways you would celebrate a wedding in the village. Because it was a ceremonious rite, you could either get married inside the church or you could have an outdoor wedding under the sacred wedding canopy. Because Finn and Rachel had conflicting religions (and because the weather was fair), they decided to have an outdoor wedding at sunset. It made no difference to them. The couple just wanted to get married—though Finn admitted he'd like to do the "glass breaking thing Jewish people do at their weddings" because it looked like fun—and an outdoor summer wedding in the village just seemed right.

But tradition called for the wedding feast/reception to be held at the bride's home. And hosting the entire village at her home in celebration of Rachel didn't exactly thrill Sue. Wasn't it bad enough she had to walk Rachel to the canopy? She just had to keep reminding herself that after all of that, Rachel would be out of her hair.

"Gives you something to look forward to," Sue had mused as she put on her suit on the day of the wedding. When she finished, she stepped into the small living room area where Quinn and Brittany were waiting. "Hello, Girls."

Quinn quirked her brow at Sue's attire. "Is _that_ what you're wearing?"

"Yes."

"It's not a dress," Brittany innocently pointed out.

"Yes, I know it's not a dress. A body like mine is not built for dresses—never did care for 'em either—but I can get away with wearing a suit because I am the head of the house. It's like how they never complain about me wearing pants. And may I say that despite your opinion toward my attire: I think you two look lovely."

"Thank you, Sue," the younger blondes thanked together.

"Not that you'll ever be as attractive as I am," everyone laughed at that. "Alright, wait here, I'll go get the troll bride."

Brittany looked confused. "Wait, so is Rachel a troll?"

Sue put her hands on Brittany's shoulders. "Sweet, simple, innocent Brittany: a part of me hopes that you never get married." She gave Brittany a quick pat before going after Rachel.

"I know what happens when you get married," Brittany waited until Sue was out of earshot. "After the wedding, Finn and Rachel are going to have sex."

Quinn's eyes nearly bugged out. "Brittany!"

"Well that's what people do after they get married."

"How do you even know that?"

"My friend told me."

"Which friend?"

"I can't tell you; she's my secret friend."

"You have a secret friend?"

"Yeah; like how you and Rachel had secret boyfriends."

"Everyone knows who my male friends are; it's no secret."

"I was talking about you and Puck."

"What about me and Puck?"

"Puck said when a boy and girl are in a courtship, they're called 'boyfriend and girlfriend'. Finn was Rachel's secret boyfriend and Puck is yours."

Quinn scoffed. "Brittany, I'm not romantically involved with Puck."

"But I saw you kiss him."

"I never kissed him!"

"Yes you did; it was right after you danced together."

Busted. "You saw that?"

"Teacher Will wanted me to go get you, but you and your secret boyfriend were-"

"Puck is _not_ my boyfriend!"

"Are you sure? He danced with you and you kissed him. You both clearly have romantic feelings for each other. When two people have romantic feelings toward each other, they should be together."

It dawned on Quinn what Brittany had said. "Puck has feelings for me?" Brittany nodded. Quinn cleared her throat and went back to her icy demeanor. "Did your secret friend tell you that?"

In some ways besides dancing, Brittany was a genius. What she said next proved that there was more to her than people realized. "I've seen the way he looks at you. He obviously thinks you're pretty. I think he likes being around you. He likes talking to you, and when he's not, he talks a lot _about_ you."

"He does?" Quinn's icy demeanor had melted.

"I don't know why he just doesn't tell you he likes you. And you like him, right?"

Before Quinn could answer, the girls' attention was soon drawn to the stairs as Sue and Rachel made their way down. "Ladies," when Rachel was downstairs, she twirled in her dress, "isn't this just the most divine gown ever made?"

"So who did you borrow it from?" Rachel scowled at Quinn's quip. "I'm sorry, Rachel, I just couldn't resist. In all honesty, you look beautiful."

Brittany bobbed her head in agreement. "Yeah Rachel, you look really, really pretty."

"Well I feel really, really beautiful." She let out a wistful sigh. "This is the day I've dreamt about for as long as I can remember, and it's finally here," she tried not to cry. "I wish my Daddy could be here."

"You and me both," Sue muttered.

Rachel had heard her. "Nothing, not even you, Sue, can ruin my day." She lowered her veil in front of her face.

"Hmm, now that you can't see your face as much, you look better."

"Sue!" Quinn admonished.

"That's as close a compliment she's gonna get from me."

"I'll take it," Rachel went over to Sue and kissed her cheek—much to Sue's obvious disgust. "Thank you, Sue."

"I'll give you a free pass for that little public display of affection seeing as it's your wedding; but don't you _ever_ do that again."

"I promise," Rachel linked her arm in Sue's. "Shall we?'

"Let's get this over with."

...

As the "sisters" of the bride, Brittany and Quinn had to walk in front of the bride and stand to the side of the canopy with the "father". The "family" would be the last to walk to the village circle where the canopy would be in place in the center of the town with the groom standing under it and the village already assembled to the sides. The officiant was also responsible for alerting the family when it was time to walk down the makeshift aisle to the canopy. He'd knock on the door, tell them "it's time," wait for the entire family to line up outside, then make his way down the little aisle as an indication that the wedding was about to begin.

Sure enough, the entire village was there. Watching. The officiant was the first to make his way down the aisle, Quinn and Brittany shortly following. As she made her walk, Quinn's eyes scanned the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of her mohawked admirer, but he didn't seem to be there. Brittany, meanwhile, didn't intend to see Santana amidst the crowd, but there she was. Brittany gave her a small wave and Santana responded with a wink. It was when the girls had finished their walk and stood at their designated spots when Quinn heard someone whisper, "I thought the bride was supposed to be the most beautiful girl at a wedding." She quickly craned her head to see Puck make his way to the front from behind her and stand among her friends. He flashed her his signature smirk and winked at her, and all she could do was blush and smile.

And then came the bride. Now granted it wasn't as big of a spectacle because everyone was already standing and there was no music, but it was still important nevertheless. Especially to Finn. He stood at the end of the aisle awestruck that this was happening and he couldn't take his eyes off his bride, not even when she reached the aisle. They each had lovelorn smiles on their faces while they continued to sneak sideways glances.

The ceremony was a basic wedding ceremony. The bride and groom each took their first drink from the wedding goblet, exchanged their rings as they made their vows, and then said their 'I Wills' (in lieu of 'I Dos' which was something that had yet to catch on). Following their second/final drink, Finn lifted Rachel's veil and kissed the bride.

Then he got to do the fun part and break the glass. "MAZEL TOV!"

…

The wedding reception seemed to be a huge success. The feast was well prepared (thanks to Burt) and the music was fun and lively. Granted the men and women were on separate sides, but that didn't seem to deter anyone. Heck, everyone even seemed okay with Becky going around asking for money. A welcome surprise was a bottle dance performed by Will, Kurt, and two other male students (Mike and Matt) who were skilled at dance.

Once that was done, Will stood on a chair in the center for another tradition. At a reception, a mutual family friend would stand center and announce the gifts that the bride and groom's parents had gotten for them. "Attention everyone, attention!" Will called for attention. "It seems appropriate that after that little gift to the newlyweds, I announce what gifts have been bestowed upon them. Sadly, both Finn and Rachel have lost each of their parents, but their stepparents have generously blessed them with the following gifts. First from Rachel's stepmother, Sue: a new featherbed, a pair of goose pillows, a used tablecloth-"

"I had it washed!" Sue clarified.

"-and a pair of candlesticks." Everyone applauded as the gifts were presented to Finn and Rachel. "And from Finn's stepfather, Burt—in addition to the wedding feast and the wedding attire—has purchased the young couple a house." Everyone oohed at that.

Finn looked at Burt. "Burt, you bought us a house?"

Burt tried to act like it was no big deal. "Yeah, I got you the house you lived in before you moved in with me. No big deal."

"Wow, thanks."

"Thank you, Burt," Rachel was resisting the urge to hug him.

"What, my gifts aren't good enough?" Sue jested.

"They are, it's just that-"

But Burt couldn't tell that Sue was joking. "Why are you upset they're not grateful for those so-called _gifts_?"

"No, we really do appreciate them, we just-"

"Shush," Sue shushed the bride as she stood from her seat and faced Burt. "I'm sure you would have been more appreciative of them if they were given to your own son."

Kurt tried to hide himself. "Oh please, not now."

"You just bought them the house out of guilt!"

"You were the one who had to break off the already official arrangement with that dream of yours," Burt reminded.

"In which your late wife, Finn's mother-"

"-may she rest in peace," the entire village spoke.

"-said not to go through with the marriage and that you could save your own soul in the afterlife by buying them her old house."

"This is something she said in some dream _you_ had!" Burt pointed out. "How do I know you didn't make that up just to break off our agreement?"

"It would take a truly evil genius to come up with a plan so inventive."

"Ah, see she basically confirmed she made it up. She intentionally sabotaged our arrangement!"

"They drank on it to make it official!" April added.

"Stay out of this, April," Sue ordered.

"Why? I'm the one who made the match. I think I have every right to speak out." And thus an argument had broken out. It was kind of amusing to watch men and women argue across the backyard divider over this, but at the same time it was also uncomfortable.

However, the fighting ceased when someone stood on their chair, banged their dishes together and yelled. "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Honestly, it was an effective way for Puck to get everyone's attention. "So a match had been broken; so what? Rachel clearly wanted to marry Finn, not Kurt."

There were murmurs throughout the crowd. Some of the questions included. "Marry for love?" "A girl deciding her own husband?" and "What about the matchmaker?" (the last one obviously coming from April).

"A wedding is supposed to be a happy occasion, there's no need to fight!" Puck jumped off his chair. "I say we dance!" as everyone verbalized their agreements, Puck crossed the dividing line and the agreements turned to gasps. "So ladies, who's gonna dance with me?" The ladies shied away. "Oh come on, it's not illegal or a sin to dance at a wedding with a man." He turned his attention to the girl he had been sneaking glances at all evening. "Quinn," he held his hand out to her, "dance with me…please."

Quinn bit her lip and slowly stepped forward to take his hand as her female friends protested. "Why not?" she only had eyes for Puck. "It's only a dance."

With his free hand, Puck tore the partition down. "Play!" he ordered the musicians. Reluctantly, they did so and Puck and Quinn began to dance.

"She's dancing with a man!" April gasped at Sue.

"I can see that!" Sue bitingly questioned back.

Suddenly, Will crossed to the girl's side. He sought out his wife, and they began dancing. Clearly impressed by his teacher's gesture, Finn took his wife's hands in his and they too started dancing (despite Finn being a terrible dancer). When Brittany hurried over to the boy's side and randomly chose Kurt as her dance partner, everyone soon started to dance. And it seemed like the celebration was back and better than before.

Until a bunch of men with torches and clubs appeared; men who each wore a royal emblem on their uniform. This was the demonstration Figgins had warned them about. Screams of joy soon turned into screams of fear as the royal soldiers began their demonstration, causing a wave of destruction in their path. People ran and fled for their lives trying to avoid being struck or burned. Furniture was being knocked over, dishes broken, food thrown, and people cowered in fear. When a solider began to tear apart the goose pillows, Puck decided he could take him and fight back. "Puck, no!" Quinn tried to hold him back, but Puck ran over to the soldier and punched him. He would have won the ensuing fight had another solider not clubbed him in the head. "PUCK!" Quinn ran to his side.

As this was happening, a leery-eyed soldier began approaching a terrified Brittany, who was hiding behind a fallen table alone. She tried to run, but he roughly grabbed her and began tearing at her dress. "ENOUGH!" Thankfully, the men were stopped in time by the arrival of Constable Figgins. "That is enough," he told the men. "Leave, now," the men did so. The only people who remained in the back were Sue, Rachel, Brittany, Quinn, Puck, and Finn. A stunned Sue stared down Figgins. "I am sorry, Sue; but orders are orders."

Despite her anger, rage, frustration, humiliation, and upset, Sue was quiet as she sternly ordered Figgins, "Get off my property." He turned and did so. As she surveyed the extensive damage, Puck was coming to as evident by a pained moan. "Brittany, get him inside and make sure he's okay."

Quinn helped Puck off the ground and guided him to Brittany before going over to a shocked Finn and a sobbing Rachel. "Oh, Rachel," the sisters hugged.

Sue turned to the remaining three. "Why are you all just standing there? Start cleaning this mess! Come on, clean up!" They began to do so as they heard the sound of more destruction in the background.

* * *

 **Yeah, it doesn't exactly end on a positive note; but that's where both the scene and Act 1 end.**

 **I wanted to clear this up in case anyone had questions: I've noticed in Europe, they sometimes say "I will" instead of "I do". My earliest example of this is in the Disney version of** _ **101 Dalmatians**_ **. The clergy asks something like, "will thou love [pronoun], honor, cherish, and forsake all others so long as ye both shall live". So I figured at that time, they'd be more apt to say "I will". So if anyone has any confusion about that, I hope that explains it.**


	8. The Engagement

**Nothing to say, moving forward…**

* * *

Everyone had to admit, Sue did seem a lot happier now that she didn't live with Rachel. In fact: Sue had scared Quinn and Brittany the morning after Rachel left because she was not only smiling, but singing. "You'll notice I sing _good_ songs," Sue had told them as she helped herself to breakfast, "and even if I sang the songs she did, I'd sing them better." She let out a contented sigh. "Things can only get better from here."

And for the next few months, things did seem to be getting better. There was, however, one small thing that seemed to irk Sue. Was it just her, or was that Puck kid getting kind of close to Quinn? How long was this "temporary" visit of his? To calm her suspicions, Sue did try to keep them separated, but when they reunited after any separation (no matter how brief), they seemed to be closer. Sue didn't need another "Rachel/Kurt/Finn" fiasco and Quinn was the next girl to be matched.

"Sue!" Brittany tried to get her guardian's attention.

Sue blinked back into focus. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked how you felt about the news."

She waved her hand. "I really could care less. You know how I live to see her miserable. Although: I do enjoy the fact that she's so happy, she can't see how miserable she really is." Sue sighed a wistful sigh. "Is it so wrong to take pleasure in other's misfortune?"

"It does seem a little mean."

Sue shrugged. "Any other news?"

"The match between my friends Sam and Mercedes is official. They're gonna do what Finn and Rachel did and get married outside, so they're waiting until next year to-"

"Hold on: Sam? Isn't he that blonde kid with the big mouth who's always near the teacher?" Brittany nodded. "The one Quinn has a crush on?"

This time Brittany shrugged. "I guess."

"Damn," Sue leaned back in her seat. "I was kinda hopin' he'd match with Quinn."

"So Quinn could move out?"

Sue gave the "so-so" gesture. "I mean, that wouldn't be a bad thing; but Quinn likes that kid and I actually want to see Quinn somewhat happy. I'd sure as hell love to see her away from Puck. Speaking of, where is Puck?"

"He said he really needed to talk to Quinn so they went by the river."

"They went _where_?"

…

"I leave tomorrow morning," Puck was finishing up his news.

"So soon?" Quinn couldn't exactly comprehend.

"I know it isn't exactly-"

"And you're going alone?"

"I'm gonna meet up with a few friends. You don't know 'em, they live across the continent. If it helps, they're all guys and the only girls that go with 'em are their wives."

"I admit, it helps a little." She tried to regain a cool composure. "I shouldn't be so affected by this news; you were only here temporarily."

"Yeah, but now that I found a reason to stay, I don't want to leave."

She stared at him for a moment understanding that _she_ was the reason. "Then don't."

"I _have_ to."

"Oh," she stood up to leave, "then goodbye, Puck"

He chased after her. "But before I go: there is one thing I have to ask you."

"You can ask me before you leave tomorrow." she continued forward without looking at him.

"It's an important question I need to ask you alone."

"What kind of question?"

He stumbled for the answer. "Political."

"Political?"

"Some consider the question of marriage a political type question."

That got her to stop and face him. "What?" He couldn't say anything. "You call the question of marriage a _political_ question?"

"Everything's political." She raised her brow to him. "Okay, fine, I panicked when you asked what kind of question it was."

"Are you asking me to marry you?"

"Yeah, I guess I am." A pause. "I know I have to leave, but I'll save up all I can to send for you. And I know it won't be easy being with me, but I can't imagine living the rest of my life without you, Q." She didn't bother to correct him. "So, what do you say?"

"Puck…" this time Quinn didn't know what to say, "…I…this is all happening so fast! I feel like I barely know you."

"But do you love me?"

"Yes, I love you, but-" she stopped herself.

"But?"

"That's all." He gave her a funny look. "I love you."

He approached her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you too." He brushed her hair behind her ears. "I said I would never settle unless I found something worth settling for."

She smiled. "Like a wife?"

"Like something that I would die for, but something that I could live for too."

"And you found it?"

He stared into her hazel eyes. "I found you."

She cupped his face in her hand. "I was always right here waiting."

"Will you keep waiting for me?"

"I will."

"So," Puck blew out a breath, "I guess we're gettin' married."

Quinn grinned. "I guess we are." He took her hand and kissed it. "I was wondering when you were going to ask me."

As the now engaged couple was about to kiss, they were interrupted by a rather loud throat clearing. "I'm sorry," Sue's tone clearly indicated that she wasn't, "was I interrupting something?"

"I was just telling Quinn I have to leave tomorrow," Puck wasn't lying. "I guess there's no point telling you later."

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Puck nodded. "Well, I'll admit, I will miss you." Sue then directed her attention to Quinn. "I'm sure we'll _all_ miss you."

"There's some good news though."

"Oh?"

"Quinn and are I are engaged."

Sue hoped it wasn't the obvious engagement. "Engaged in what?"

"Engaged to be married, Sue," Quinn corrected as she took Puck's hand in hers. "Puck and I are getting married."

"Oh no, you're not," Sue literally came between them. "I know you both like each other, but he's going away, you're staying here, and…right now I can't think of another other excuses." She turned to Puck. "Look Puck, I do like you, and I know I gave Rachel my blessing to marry Finn, but I can't give you my blessing to marry Quinn.

"We don't need your blessing," Quinn's remark resulted in Sue turning to her. "And we don't need your permission. We're going to be married with or without your approval."

"At least Finn asked me to marry Rachel. Rachel even begged!"

"Rachel was afraid of you! I'm not!"

"Why do you want to marry a man who's abandoning you?"

"I would never abandon her!" Puck defended. "And I swear as soon as I get some money I'll send for her; even if that means I have to go crawling back to my family!" Quinn gave him a surprised look. "Yeah, the family that disowned me is rich," he focused on Sue. "But I don't need them, I just need Quinn. I love her."

Quinn sidled up to her intended. "And I love him."

"Marrying for love seems to be the new _thing_ ," Sue observed. "Though our old ways were once considered new—how else could they have gotten old? But getting married without a matchmaker or permission; it just isn't done." She let out a deep sigh. "Still, this is gonna happen no matter what I say, so I might as well give you my damn blessing and my damn permission."

Quinn hugged Sue. "Thank you."

"I figured you'd end up marrying one of the wealthier boys," she looked at Puck, "and because I gave you my approval, if you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit of your family's wealth…"

"I never said I was going back to them," Puck reminded. "I said if I _had_ to."

"Still…"

Puck shook her hand. "Thanks again, Sue."

"I do like you Puck. Sure you're a little too wild and crazy for my taste, but I do like you. And what's important is Quinn likes you."

"I love him," Quinn corrected.

"Alright, fine, she _loves_ you."

Puck smiled at his fiancée. "And I love her."

"Okay, enough already with the love, we get it!" The younger two laughed. "Maybe this whole 'marrying for love' thing isn't such a bad idea."

Quinn stepped forward. "Sue, there's one thing I want to know: did you love my father?"

Sue considered that. "No," she couldn't read Quinn's expression. "I didn't love Rachel's father either. Honestly, the only person I would ever consider marrying is myself. For reasons that are still unclear to me, I was matched with those men. Sure, I thought I could learn to love 'em, but I didn't; and I couldn't refuse because I'm not one to go against tradition."

"Is there anyone you've ever loved?"

"Besides myself?" Quinn gave her a 'be serious' look. So Sue got serious. "My sister, Jean. I suppose the only love I've ever been able to show is familial love, and I consider you girls my family—well, all except Rachel, I never did care for her."

"You love me?"

"I guess."

Quinn hugged her. "I love you too, Sue."

"Alright, alright, get off; enough with the mushy stuff," she pushed Quinn off of her. "You should probably spend the rest of the day with your…with Puck."

"I will, thank you." Quinn gave Sue another hug, went back to her fiancée, and the newly engaged couple walked off hand in hand.

Sue sighed. "I really do like Puck. I suppose every parent wants their kid to marry someone that they like. I suppose I do like Finn too; I certainly like him better than Rachel. I did say I liked Kurt; maybe Brittany will luck out and marry him. Who knows, maybe the day will come when I'll be able to marry myself." The faint fiddle could be heard in the background. "I tell you, I'd love to take that fiddle bow and beat that damn fiddler with it! Is it too much to ask for one day of peace; _that_ is what I'd love most."

* * *

 **I snuck in some references to "** _ **Do You Love Me**_ **" which is a song sung by Tevye & Golde, the married couple Sue is based on. To be honest, I'm not a fan of that song either. I really only like 3 songs from the show.**

" _ **Now I Have Everything"**_ **is the third of my favorite songs from the show and I was bummed not to see in the movie. To be fair, I did see the movie first, but when I found out about the song, I was bummed it wasn't in there. I liked the song, I wish it was in there, and when I found out who sang it first, I got excited. Why? Because Perchik was played by one of my favorite game show hosts/host of my favorite game show, Bert Convey [seriously; networks revive every game show but they can't revive** _ **Tattletales**_ **?]**


	9. The Goodbye

**Gosh it's just been such a lazy weekend that I didn't even want to be on the computer. In addition to cleaning: I caught up on a lot of movies I wanted to watch. Still, I didn't realize how close I was to finishing this and decided to work on another chapter.**

 **Here it is.**

* * *

"I don't know if I should tell Susie," April was gossiping with Tina and Mercedes. "Haven't those girls been putting her through enough?"

"But you actually saw one of them kiss Brittany on the cheek?" Tina asked for clarification.

"Maybe you thought you did and she was just whispering something to Brittany," Mercedes suggested.

"I didn't want to go in for a closer look," April elaborated. "You think there's a chance poor, sweet, innocent, Brittany didn't know who that girl was?"

"Could be."

"And why would that girl even whisper anything to Brittany?" Tina brought up a valid question. "Do they already know each other?"

"I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she tricked poor, sweet, innocent Brittany," April then noticed one of the girls make her way toward them. "Rachel!" April stopped her. "Oh Rachel, I was at the post office this morning and I couldn't help but overhear the postmaster say there was a letter for Quinnie."

"Thank you April," Rachel thanked. "I'll go get it and-" April took the letter out of her handbag, "- _you_ have the letter." Rachel noticed the envelope, "and it's open."

"It just _happened_ to be open."

"Did you read it?"

"I might have stolen a glance or two. I didn't recognize who it was from and I was both curious and worried."

" _Nosy_ is more like it," Rachel remarked as she read the letter. "It says: _Dear Quinn; I'm afraid I have to introduce myself in writing. I am Noah's mother_ ," Rachel looked confused. "Noah?"

She wasn't the only one. "Noah?" Tina and Mercedes asked each other simultaneously.

"So none of you know who Noah is?" April questioned. Tina and Mercedes shook their head. "Darn."

Rachel went back to reading the letter, "… _contacted me following his arrest at a protest rally in_ some place I can't pronounce," it suddenly dawned on Rachel. "Noah is Puck!"

"What?" the other women didn't understand.

"Noah must be Puck's real name. I just read the rest of this letter and his mother said she enclosed some money for Quinn to take a train back to their home where he'll be waiting for her! It has to be Puck because he's waiting for her! And Quinn told me he's actually from a rich family, so he must have asked his mother for help. Oh, Quinn's going to be so happy to read this—she hasn't heard from Puck in weeks."

"Well go on," April nudged her toward Quinn's house, "go tell her."

Rachel turned to April and held out her hand. "First give me the money."

"There was no money in the letter." Rachel raised her brow to April. "Alright, fine," she handed her the money.

"All of it."

"That is all of it.'

"His mother wrote the specific amount."

April moaned and dropped the rest of the money in Rachel's hands, "His mother's a clever woman." Rachel took off for Quinn's. "Oh, this is some hot gossip!" April ran to tell everyone the news.

Coming out of the bookshop, Artie went toward Tina and Mercedes. "What's going on?"

"You know that guy Quinn's supposed to marry?" Mercedes asked him. "The one who danced with her at Finn and Rachel's wedding."

"You mean Puck?"

Mercedes nodded. "Apparently his real name is Noah and he's from a rich family."

"Really?"

"And he's been arrested," Tina added.

"How do you know?"

"Because his mother wrote a letter to Quinn and left her money."

"How do you know that his mother wrote Quinn?"

"Because April likes to read other people's mail." Artie made a noise of acknowledged understanding. "April's on her way to tell the entire village."

"Surprise, surprise."

"She did tell us another interesting piece of gossip that involves Brittany," Mercedes remembered.

"Brittany?"

"Brittany and one of _them_."

Artie gasped. "One of _them_?"

"One of _them_ ," Mercedes and Tina spoke in unison.

…

It didn't take too long for the news about Puck to spread through the village. By the time Sue heard it secondhand, she hurried back home to find Quinn packing up all of her belongings.

"I take it you heard?" was the first thing Quinn had asked her.

Sue nodded. "Yeah, from a couple of people."

"His mother sent me the money to go to her house where Puck will be waiting for me. Rachel told me April opened the letter, so I wouldn't be surprised if everyone knew before I did."

"At least she left you the money."

"Not at first."

"Ah, well I'd probably try the same."

"That doesn't bother me. What does bother me is that everyone else knew his real name before I did. Noah."

"Eh, I prefer Puck." Quinn let out a small laugh. "I guess this means you're leaving?"

Quinn froze. "Yes, I guess it does." There was no immediate response, so Quinn went back to packing.

"Would it be alright if I took you to the train station and waited with you?" Quinn blinked at her. "I mean you're carrying money and everything you own and will be at risk for thieves and…what not."

"I'd like that Sue. I'd like that very much."

"Why don't I help you pack?" She started putting some of Quinn's things in a suitcase. "Are you taking everything?"

"Just my clothes, a few of my favorite books, and my trinkets."

Sue held up a stuffed lamb. "What about this?" Quinn merely stared. "If you have no use for it, I could-"

"I'm keeping it. I could never let this go." She took the lamb and held it close to her heart. "You gave this to me to the day we met. It was the day you and my father got married and I was so afraid of having a stepmother."

"Stepmothers don't exactly have the best reputation thanks to them fairy tales."

"When we first met you knelt to my level, smiled at me, told me your name was Sue and that you wanted to be my friend."

"Then I held out that lamb."

"And I reluctantly took it even though I was afraid you'd take it back."

"You thanked me and told me you wanted to be my friend too." A few tears had escaped Quinn as she nodded. "I've known you since you were a little girl and here you are now. A beautiful young woman about to be married and leave the village." Quinn started crying. "What? What'd I say?"

"The letter said I didn't have to go if I didn't want to."

"So why is that making you cry?"

"Because I considered staying." She wiped her tears. "I've lived in this village all of my life. This is my home and I love it. I was happy, content, and any talk of leaving was just talk. Even if I did travel, I'd want to come back. Everyone I know and care about is here."

"Except for Puck."

"Except for the person I love most. And my home is wherever he is." She sniffled. "If I go to be with Puck, I don't know if I can come back here again. Who knows if I'll see anyone again; if I'll ever see _you_ again."

Sue pulled Quinn in for a comforting embrace much to Quinn's (and even Sue's) surprise. Sue tried to calm her as she stroked her hair. Sue wasn't shedding any tears—Quinn was doing enough crying for the both of them anyway—but she did close her eyes and think back to the day her first husband died. She had been married for a few years and Quinn was a scrawny eleven year old who wouldn't stop bawling over the death of her father. So, uncertain of what to do, Sue clumsily pulled a sobbing Quinn into a comforting embrace, tried to calm her, and stroked her hair…

…just as she was doing now. "Hey," Sue used her thumb to wipe one of Quinn's fallen tears. "We'll see each other again. It may take a while, but I know we will."

"Will you write me?" Quinn asked her.

Sue groaned. "Do I have to?"

"Sue!"

She sucked air through her teeth and sighed. "Fine, I'll write."

"Thank you," Quinn gave her another hug.

"Will you send me some money?"

"Do I have to?"

Sue chuckled. "I always knew you were special, Q. And I'm really gonna miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too, so much." Sue tried not to cry. "I love you, Sue."

But a tear escaped her. "I love you, Quinn."

* * *

 **Yes, this ending is kinda bittersweet. I wanted to give Quinn a nice sendoff because this is the last time we'll see her.**

 **It's the two scenes in one chapter and this is the scene w/ Tzeitel & Yente in the village and then Hodel & Tevye at the train station. The scene w/ Yente was originally a brief musical number, but I didn't know how to work it in so I made some adjustments. **

**The stuffed lamb is a reference to the lamb we saw in Quinn's bedroom in the season 1 finale. I always wondered what it was doing there and that maybe it would have** _ **some**_ **meaning. So I featured it in here and gave it meaning.**


	10. The New Arrival and the Letter

**Yeah, yeah I got lazy again. No other real excuses because I did have some spare time; I just opted to watch movies and** _ **Match Game**_ **.**

 **So anyway, here's the next part.**

* * *

"Hey Artie," Sam greeted Artie at the bookstore on one of those plain, ordinary, boring days, "did your newspaper come yet?"

Artie shook his head. "Even if it did, it'd probably be just bad news."

"I still can't believe they're evacuating that village; it's not that far from ours."

"Whatever the royals want, the royals get."

"And nothing's been done to stop it?"

"Even so, what can be done? The royals are too powerful to-"

"Guys!" an excited Tina suddenly came running into the bookstore. "It's here! It's finally here and they're allowing everyone to come and see."

"It's about time," Sam ran out of the shop as Tina helped Artie.

It seemed as though the whole village was congregated outside the house. Before they could even knock on the door, Finn opened it. "I didn't think the whole village would show up for this."

"Finny," April stepped forward, "it's really here this time?" Finn nodded. "Oh, this is so exciting."

"Can we go and see the new arrival?" Will inquired.

"Yeah, but," Finn began to count, "could we do like seven at a time or something?" The first seven people hurried inside where the new arrival was resting in the center of the room. Naturally, everyone oohed and aahed and gave compliments. "It's really something, isn't it?"

"Yeah, she's a beauty," Beiste observed.

"It's not a girl, Beiste," Sam argued.

"Kurt!" Rachel came running into the house to the table where Kurt and his new sewing machine were sitting. "It's really here this time?"

Kurt beamed with pride. "She's really here this time."

"Told ya," Beiste whispered to Sam.

"They said it would arrive in no more than three weeks and it took a whole month!" Rachel bemoaned that.

"Well it's here now, isn't it?" Kurt responded back. "Oh, this is going to do wonders for the business."

"Do you know how to use it?" Will asked him.

"If Finn and I put it together correctly, it should…" Kurt gave a demonstration much to everyone's amazement. "The miracle of modern machinery; am I right?"

"Kurt," Finn stepped forward and laid some money next to the machine, "I was hoping I could be the first customer you use the machine for. Well, it's actually for Christopher, but he can't really ask you himself because he's a baby."

Kurt slid the money back. "Keep your money. I'll make my nephew some new clothes as a gift. He's going to be dressed in the finest clothes not sewn by his mother."

"Hey!" Rachel took offense to that.

"Rachel, you can't sew and you know it."

Finn even nodded at that. "Yeah, you really can't." She glowered at her husband. "If it helps: I can't sew either!" Rachel gave an angry huff and marched out of the store.

"Finn, you should probably-" Kurt needed to say no more as Finn called after his wife and followed her out of Kurt's shop.

As Finn exited, Sue entered. "While I do love when Rachel's upset," Sue started, "I do feel sorry for her poor husband who has to deal with her." She pushed her way through the crowd. "Well, well, Porcelain, I see you got your new sewing machine."

"Yep."

She gave it a quick glance. "And now that I've seen it, I shall be off."

"Um, okay, bye Sue."

Sue gave him a quick wave as she exited the shop and headed home. While rounding a corner, she swore she saw Brittany talking to someone else. When she stopped to look, she not only confirmed it was Brittany, but it was Brittany talking to one of _them_.

…

"We really shouldn't be seen here," Santana sounded unsure. "I don't want this to get you in trouble."

"I want to be seen with you, Santana," Brittany, on the other hand, sounded if she knew what she wanted. "You're a lot more than a friend to me and I love you."

"I love you too, Britt."

Brittany leaned in closer. "I really want to kiss you right now."

But Santana backed away. "Not here."

"Santana, I want to be with you."

"I want that too, Britt," she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. "Uh-oh."

"What?"

"Sue saw us."

Brittany noticed. "I'm going to tell her about us."

"What?"

"She's been a little more understanding since what happened with Rachel and Quinn. I'm sure she'll be okay with us."

"Maybe I should be the one to talk to her."

"She won't listen to you. If she does, she'll think you did something to me and I'm afraid of what she'll do to you. I'll tell her."

"I'll wait for you at our usual spot," Santana gave Brittany a quick kiss on the cheek and left.

Brittany turned to see Sue approaching. "Hey Sue."

"Hello, Brittany," Sue didn't sound all that happy to see Brittany, nor did she look happy to see Santana. "Why were you talking with one of _them_?"

"Her name is Santana and she's my friend." Brittany paused to find the words. "Actually, she's more than a friend." Sue began to make a face that Brittany couldn't read. "I've known her for a while now and I love her. I want to be with her."

"Well you can't be with her."

" _Her_ is Santana! She has a name! She's not a dangerous or diseased person. Santana's just a girl like me who happens to be attracted to girls. I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Well there is something wrong with that."

"Santana and I don't think there is."

"That's because she brainwashed you! That's what those people do, Brittany!" Before Brittany could speak, Sue cut her off. "No one else needs to know about this. If anyone asks: I'll tell them that girl manipulated you, but I found out and stopped the two of you from seeing each other."

"But I love her!"

"You only _think_ you love her."

"Sue-"

"ENOUGH! I don't want you seeing her face or mentioning her name ever again, and that is FINAL!" Things became silent after that outburst. "Come on, let's go home." Brittany didn't move. "Brittany!" Brittany slowly made her way to Sue. "You seem mad now, but you'll get over it. I care so much about you, and I only want what 's best for you." Brittany kept quiet. "You'll thank me later."

…

Following a somberly quiet evening at the house, Sue was awoken the next morning by the fiddler on the roof. "Damn son of a bitch; can't they play anything _quiet_ ," she stumbled out of bed and downstairs. She honestly wasn't expecting to see any breakfast on the table—she figured Brittany would still be upset with her—so she decided to help herself. But as she began to prepare breakfast she came across a note near the stove.

 _sue Im old enuff to make my own_ _mind up and both my mind and my hart is teling me i luv santana and i am going to bee with her pleez don't bee mad but this is whats rite for me and if you luv me then yull under stand brittany_

Sue turned on the stove and burned the letter. As she did, she heard a frantic knocking on her door. Before she could tell them to come in, Rachel burst in. "Sue," she held up a letter, "Sue, Finn found this letter this morning in front of our door. Is it true about Brittany?"

"Brittany who?"

"What?"

"If it is a certain Brittany that you are thinking of, that Brittany is dead to me. Hopefully I will soon forget her."

"Sue-"

"I suppose I should thank you for knocking before you barged into my house—at least you indicated your presence."

"So that's it? You're just going to go on as if Brittany never existed."

"That's the plan, yes."

"She might not have been your daughter, but you raised her like she was. We may not be blood, but Brittany is my sister. Are you just angry because she was all you had left and now she abandoned you?" Sue glared at her, but Rachel wasn't afraid. "You said you couldn't wait for us girls to be married and out of the house. Well, you got your way; why doesn't it make you happy?"

"I don't like you," this statement confused Rachel. "I don't like you, but I did take care of you. I suppose, I considered you like a daughter, Quinn and Brittany too. I love them and I guess I have a very miniscule iota of love for you, Rachel; but love isn't enough for me to go against what I believe in and how I was raised. I was raised with more sense than that. I think with my head."

"And Brittany thinks with her heart. That's something you can't do because you don't have a heart," Sue couldn't say anything. "Finn and I are leaving Christopher with Burt and we're going to find Brittany and give her the money we were planning on using to buy Christopher some new clothes. I suppose I'll see you around the village," with that, Rachel left…

…and Sue was alone; but she wasn't happy. "Oh Brittany," Sue exhaled a sad sigh and tried not to cry, "sweet, simple, innocent Brittany," she considered what Rachel had told her. "Look at the trouble your heart's caused." As Sue sat there desperately trying not to remember the foundling orphan who would eventually break her heart, she didn't bother to express her disdain at the fiddler and their fiddle in the background. Nothing really mattered right now. The heart that Sue did have, was broken.

And when she thought things couldn't get any worse, they soon would.

* * *

 **Yeah, there's really not much left. I believe we have one major plot point left to tackle that will explain why things will get worse.**


	11. The Official Order

**How are things going to get worse? Let's find out, shall we…**

* * *

"I'm just saying _should_ they have a daughter," April was talking with Finn and Rachel the week after Brittany left, "she'd be a perfect match for Christopher."

Finn gave her a funny look. "Isn't Christopher a little, what's the word, _young_ to be matched?" he stretched out the word 'young'.

"True, he is _now_ , but I'm talking about in the future."

"And you're talking about a person who doesn't, and might not even exist," Rachel reminded. "How do you know their firstborn would be a girl?"

"Mother's intuition."

"But you don't have any kids," Finn pointed out.

"Mother _less_ intuition then."

"Bye April," it was clear both Finn and Rachel wanted to end this conversation.

"Wait," April stopped them, "I've been meaning to ask how Susie's been? I haven't seen her in days."

"She's devastated," Rachel answered. "She's too proud to admit it, but she's devastated."

"Maybe she'd be less devastated if I matched her up. I kind of thought she and Burty-"

"NO!" Finn and Rachel were also in agreement on that

As April opened her mouth to speak, she was cut off by a bunch of the villagers assembling loudly nearby. "What's going on?" Finn questioned.

"I don't know," April turned toward the amassed villagers, "but I'm going to find out." She made her way to the crowd with Finn and Rachel close behind.

"…the only one who would really know is Constable Figgins," Will was saying, "and for whatever reason, he seems to go to Sue first."

"So Sue would know if it's true or not?" Artie inquired.

"We won't know until we ask her. Come on," he started leading everyone toward Sue's house.

"Tina! Mercedes!" Rachel managed to stop her friends. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Your guess is as good as ours," Mercedes replied.

"We figure it's something the constable would know," Tina deduced.

"Yeah, we got that part," Finn told her, "but if he told Sue, why hasn't Sue told everyone else?"

"Maybe she doesn't know."

"Or maybe she's keeping it to herself," Mercedes rather sassily inputted.

"But if the constable has important news," Rachel began, "he does make his way around the village. He just tells Sue first for whatever reason. For all we know, whatever they were talking about may just be a rumor."

"Yeah, but what kind of rumor?"

…

Sue's nap was disrupted by someone banging on her door. With a groan, she got up and went to the door expecting it to be Rachel or someone equally annoying. Instead, it looked like the whole village was at her doorstep. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it!"

Will stopped her before she could close the door. "Sue, we have to know if it's true."

"If what's true?"

"There's a rumor going around and we figured the constable would have-"

A horse's whinny drew their attention to the man on the horse making his way down the path. "Constable Figgins," Sue went to greet him, "apparently, we were just talking about you."

Figgins remained serious. "There is something of great importance that I must speak with you about."

"Alright, alright, give me a second to get rid of these people."

"What I have to say also concerns them," some of the villagers started to move closer. "An official royal order has been decreed and all of the villages in the district must be emptied. Unfortunately, this includes your village." Everyone was too stunned to react. "I tried to convince them to spare this village, but they would not." A shamed Figgins looked away. "You all have three days to leave." That news did get a more vocal reaction.

"What if we refuse to leave?"

"Then the royal army will use force to make you leave. I would not advise against fighting them; you have seen the damage that they are capable of."

"Figgins, I would advise that if you don't want to see the damage I'm capable of, that you leave. This is still my property and I want you off of it."

Figgins didn't argue with that. "Three days," he rode off.

An angry Sue stayed frozen in her spot as everyone began to express their concerns.

"How are we supposed to be out in three days?" (April)

"What can we do?" (Rachel)

"Maybe we should get together with the people from the other villages and fight." (Finn)

"Against the royal army?" (Artie)

"What chance do we have against the royal army?" (Sam)

"At least he's suggestin' somethin'." (Beiste)

"It was only a matter of time before this happened to our village; there isn't anything we can do to stop this." (Will)

Everyone seemed to turn to Sue. Even with her back turned to them, she could sense they were looking to her. "I suggest we start packing," she headed back inside. "We only have three days to pack up our whole lives and abandon our homes." She sighed. "There isn't anything else we can do; not as a village anyway. I suggest you all start making plans about where you're going to live and what not." She closed the door behind her and then leaned against it, letting out a ragged breath as she did. In all honesty, her house had stopped feeling like a home since the girls left. Sue was finally by herself for the first time in her life and it wasn't at all like she expected. She figured she'd be okay with everyone she had ever known being close by, but even that was about to be taken from her. This was the moment when she finally broke down.

For the first time in her life, Sue felt she was truly alone.

* * *

 **I'm sorry it's shorter, but this one is the penultimate chapter and the next one is the last chapter. In the next one I'm gonna wrap everything up and reveal the identity of the "damn fiddler on the roof. And yes, it will be someone who's already been featured in this story.**


	12. The Epilogue

**Last chapter, nothing to say here, move along…**

* * *

The three days were up. Everyone had packed everything that they could and filled the street to leave as royal soldiers were on patrol. Some, like Sue, were still packing up their home deciding what to take, and what had to be left behind. Some, like April, were saying goodbye to everyone they ever came in contact with.

"I'll write to you from Italy where I'll be a famous opera star," a perky April said her farewell to Sue, Rachel, and Finn before she left singing her excuse for an opera song.

"Good thing we're not going to Italy," Finn commented as he went into the house to get some more of Sue's things.

Rachel turned to Sue. "Our offer still stands, Sue. I'm sure Godpapa Leroy would be more than happy to-"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Sue declined. "I think it's time I try to make it on my own. America seems like the perfect place; the land of opportunity and all that."

"I will miss you, you know."

"Don't get sentimental." Sue noticed Burt approach the house carrying Christopher and gestured to Rachel.

"Hey," Burt greeted as he passed the baby to his mother. "Thanks for lettin' me and Kurt say goodbye to the little guy. No matter what anyone says, he's still my grandson and I want pictures and letters."

"I promise Burt," Rachel gave him a hug.

Finn, who had exited the house as Burt was approaching, gave his stepfather a hug. "I'll miss you, Burt."

"I'll miss you too, Finn."

"Hey Burt," Sue approached him, "where are you and Porcelain headed off to?"

"I'm not actually sure," Burt admitted. "Kurt's...' _friend_ ' Blaine is letting us stay with him in somewhere in the city."

"Blaine? Isn't he one of _them_?"

"Blaine's not a bad kid, Sue. He never was. He's just a boy who loves boy and he happens to love my son."

"What?"

"He and Kurt were good friends growing up. And then Blaine's dad kicked him out and the village shunned him and I thought it was the end of that. Apparently, Kurt's been seeing Blaine in secret and when Blaine heard about the eviction, he offered us a place to stay in the city on the condition he and Kurt can live together."

"And you approve?"

Burt nodded. "Kurt's in love, and he's happy. My son's happiness is all I ever wanted. I think you were the one who showed us parents that lettin' your kid live their life with the one they love is the best thing a parent can do for them."

"So you're not mad at me for callin' off the match between Kurt and Rachel?"

Burt shook his head. "You were right to do that."

"I do love when people tell me I was right."

"But you were wrong to do what you did to Brittany. I hope you get closure with her before you go."

Not wanting to pursue the topic, Sue gave him a pat on the back. "Safe journey, Burt."

"Safe journey Sue," he shook her hand before they left.

"Finn," Rachel passed her son to his father, "take the baby, I'll be right back." Finn nodded as Rachel ran off.

"Where's she goin'?" Sue asked.

Finn shrugged. "Dunno, but it must be important." There was a brief pause as Sue headed back into the house. "Have you heard from Quinn?"

"I wrote her, but I don't know if she got my letter. I suppose I'll write again once I get where I'm going. To be fair: in her last letter she wrote that she was on her honeymoon."

"She and Puck got married?" Sue nodded. "Wow, good for them."

"Yeah, yeah," Sue gathered up some more of her things to put in her cart. "The things in that pile are going with me."

"I'll help load 'em in a second."

"Good boy," as Sue stepped outside, she discovered that not only had Rachel returned, but Rachel returned with a guest.

"Hi Sue," Brittany quietly greeted. Sue said nothing, loaded her things, and went back into the house for some more stuff. She couldn't help but notice the girl standing outside her fence watching the scene with a bitter expression toward her as she came back out. "I just wanted to tell you that Santana and I are leaving too; her friend Blaine has a place in the city. Kurt and his dad are staying there too." Silence was the reply. "I couldn't go without saying goodbye." No response. "Anyway, goodbye, Sue." Brittany hugged her sister. "Goodbye, Rachel."

"Goodbye, Brittany," Rachel said through her sobs. The girls pulled away and Brittany went to Santana.

"Goodbye, Brittany," Sue's response was quiet, but Brittany heard her. And Sue did make eye contact when Brittany turned to her. With a smile, Brittany blew her a kiss and left with her lover. Sue nodded toward Rachel. "I guess I should thank you for that." Rachel proudly grinned.

"Here you go," Finn came out of the house carrying his son in one arm, and a few of Sue's things in the other. "That's the last from your pile. Are you sure there's nothing else?"

"No, I think I'm good; but I would like to hold my grandson before I go." Finn nodded and passed Christopher to Sue. "If Burt can claim you as his grandson, I can do the same," she kissed the baby. "I think I'm gonna miss you most, kiddo." Christopher gave some sort of whine as a response. "I know, but hopefully we'll see each other again soon." She cuddled him. "Oh, I wish you'd stop growing." She gave him another kiss before giving him to Finn. "Finn, you and Rachel should probably leave if you want to catch the boat, or train, or whatever you're taking."

"Okay," Finn gave her a hug. "Write to us when you get where you go."

Sue groaned at that. "Ugh, fine." Finn chuckled at that. "Take care, Finn."

"I will, and I'll work real hard to make you proud of me."

"I'm already proud of ya, kid." Sue then looked at the sobbing Rachel. "I'm not going to hug you because them tears'll stain my coat."

Rachel let out a watery laugh and flung herself into Sue's arms. "I'll miss you, Sue."

"And I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss you." Rachel gave her a kiss. "I'll let that one slide too, but you better not do that again." Rachel laughed and Sue patted her shoulder. "We'll see each other again."

"I hope so, Sue, I truly hope so."

Finn tapped his wife on the shoulder. "Rachel, we gotta go."

Rachel nodded and took Christopher from her husband as Finn began pushing their cart down the path. Once they were out of sight, Sue let out a breath she seemed to have been holding. She went back into her house for a silent goodbye. She gave another sigh as she closed her front door. When that was done, she grabbed onto her cart's handles and headed off. En route, she passed Becky. "Here you go, Becky," she gave her three coins.

Becky smiled widely. "Thank you, Sue."

"Thought I'd make up for last time," Becky hugged Sue and ran off with what little she had. "I'm gonna miss that kid," Sue noted as she began dragging her cart.

As she trudged down the path, a familiar face made his way over to her. "Where you headed?"

Sue craned her neck to see that the man talking to her was the inn's silent piano player. "Oh, hey, piano guy!"

"Brad."

"Brad. I didn't know you could talk." Sue noticed what Brad was carrying in his knapsack. It was a fiddle. "So, you're the damn fiddler on the roof?" Brad nodded. "A part of me was hoping I'd find out who you were before I left."

He unloaded his fiddle and bow. "One for the road?"

"Eh," Sue shrugged, "why not? One last song before we go."

Brad readied the instrument. "Any requests?"

"Something…traditional."

* * *

 **So I wasn't lying when I said it was a character we previously met. Brad did appear briefly (albeit, unnamed) in the fourth chapter:**

 _ **Will hurried over to piano player. "Play something worth celebrating." The pianist quickly changed his tune and began to play something more upbeat and fast that Will started dancing to.**_

 **I figured Brad had some respect for Sue and he was musically inclined, so I wanted to last scene to be between them and I wanted the last word to be a variation of "tradition".**

 **All in all, I'm pleased that I did this. It may seem kinda out there and different, but you never know, some people might have enjoyed it. To those who did enjoy it, thank you for sticking with this fic. My love and thanks to all who read this fic. Peace out!**


End file.
